Written Answers

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Written Answers To Questions

Tuesday 23 January 1990

Defence

Nuclear Accidents

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what accidents with nuclear weapons involving United States military forces, aircraft or ships and submarines afforded operational rights on United Kingdom territory have taken place on United Kingdom territory or in United Kingdom territorial waters since 1979.

There has never been an accident in United Kingdom territory involving damage to a United States nuclear weapon.

Low Flying

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many low-flying sorties by military jet aircraft of the NATO air forces, were carried out for the last year for which he has figures; and what were the figures for (a) five years and (b) 10 years ago;(2) how many low-flying sorties by military jet aircraft of the Royal Air Force were carried out for the last year for which he has figures; and what was the figure

(a) five years and (b) 10 years ago.

Central records are not held in a form which would allow the information requested to be readily provided. Of the total number of low-flying sorties carried out in the United Kingdom low flying system in 1988, 84 per cent. were carried out by British military aircraft, 15 per cent. by United States aircraft based in the United Kingdom and under 2 per cent. by other NATO aircraft and others by special agreement.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are (a) the minimum and (b) the maximum heights authorised by his Department for low-flying sorties by military jet aircraft over the United Kingdom.

Low-flying training by military jet aircraft in the United Kingdom low flying system normally take place between the heights of 2,000 ft and 250 ft. A limited amount of training by military jet aircraft is also authorised down to 100 ft in three specially designated areas in northern Scotland, central Wales and the Borders.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the criteria laid down by his Department for low-flying sorties by military jet aircraft over the United Kingdom, carried out by (a) the Royal Air Force and (b) other NATO air forces.

The United Kingdom low flying system is primarily reserved for low-flying training by British military and United Kingdom-based United States air force aircraft. Other NATO air forces carry out some limited low-flying training in the United Kingdom, normally associated with exercises or on an exchange basis, but this element accounts for under 2 per cent. of the total low-flying activity in the United Kingdom.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether there has been any increase in the amount of low-flying activity over the Hexham constituency during the past year and during the past five years; and if he will make a statement.

Central records are not held in a form which would allow the information requested to be provided. The overall amount of low-flying activity in the United Kingdom did, however, increase in the years up to 1986, largely as a result of the introduction into service of the Tornado GR1 aircraft, but has been reasonably constant since then. I have no reason to believe that this position was not reflected in the Hexham constituency.

Ethnic Minority Recruitment

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he is able to make a statement on the outcome of the study into ethnic minority recruitment into the armed services.

A copy of the report by independent consultants has today been placed in the Library of the House.The report was commissioned by the MOD after a survey had revealed that only 1·1 per cent. of recruits to the armed forces during 1987–88 came from the ethnic minorities. My hon. Friend the Member for Kettering (Mr. Freeman) made clear at the time his wish to see more members of the ethnic minorities joining the services and asked the consultants to advise on why comparatively few applied to the services, why their applications were less likely to succeed and how the situation could be improved.The report falls into three parts. The first deals with the results of research designed to establish attitudes towards employment generally and towards employment in the armed forces in particular. The results suggest that in most respects the attitudes of young people from the ethnic minorites are not markedly different from those of their white counterparts. However, they are less likely to consider a career in the armed forces for a number of reasons, including in many cases the fear that they will encounter racial discrimination.The second part of the report reviews the services' existing recruitment criteria and practices as they affect the ethnic minorities. It concludes that the selection process is thorough and objective, conforming generally to the Commission for Racial Equality's code of practice and the Institute of Personnel Management's equal opportunities code. However, the report identifies scope for building upon existing good management practice and also some possible areas where indirect discrimination could arise, though there was no evidence that this was happening.The third part of the report suggests ways in which the situation might be improved. It proposes a long-term marketing strategy to encourage a more positive attitude towards the services by young people from the ethnic minorities; a short-term marketing strategy to target recruiting efforts more effectively towards members of the ethnic minorities who are interested in a career in the services; an internal strategy for improving selection procedures; and some organisational changes intended to achieve a more co-ordinated and effective implementation of these strategies. In all the report contains 23 separate recomendations.We welcome the report and have accepted all but two of the recommendations. We intend to adopt a policy of giving positive encouragement to applications from members of the ethnic minorities. This will involve, among other things, projecting a more positive message in our advertising, making recruiting offices more welcoming, special training for recruiting staff, greater use of recruiters from the ethnic minorities in selected areas and the building up of more contact between the services and young people from the ethnic minorities. In addition, we will be introducing a more detailed form of ethnic monitoring of applicants to help us identify where special difficulties are being encountered during the selection process and we shall be looking critically at a number of the selection tests employed to ensure that any possibility of indirect discrimination is eliminated.We are concerned at the finding that fear of racial discrimination deters members of the ethnic minorities from applying to join the services. The services are equal opportunity employers, under the terms of the Race Relations Act, and we will continue to make it clear that no form of racial discrimination will be tolerated and that all complaints will be properly investigated. Many service men and service women from the ethnic minorities are already pursuing successful careers in all three services: we intend to give greater publicity to their achievements as an encouragement to others.Implementation of the report will be closely monitored by Ministers, who attach great importance to increasing the number of recruits from the ethnic minorities, while recognising, as does the report, that a sustained effort will be required if attitudes are to be changed and that dramatic increases in the number of ethnic minority recruits are unlikely in the short term.This last point is confirmed by the provisional results of the 1988–89 survey of applicants by ethnic origins, which show very little change from the 1987–88 results: 1·6 per cent. of applicants and 1·1 per cent. of successful recruits identified themselves as belonging to the ethnic minorities.Copies of the final results of the 1987–88 survey and the provisional results of the 1988–89 survey have been placed in the Library of the House. As last year, the provisional 1988–89 results will be published in the Statement on the Defence Estimates.

Home Department

Mr Kevin Taylor

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department is he will order an immediate inquiry into the handling of the investigation and prosecution of Mr.

Acceptances for settlement in total, and for spouses and dependants of certain nationalities
Numbers of acceptances
	Total acceptances (all nationalities)	Acceptances of spouses and dependants
		New Commonwealth¹		Pakistan		Hong Kong BDTCs²
		Spouses and children	Elderly and other dependants	Spouses and children	Elderly and other dependants	Spouses and children	Elderly and other dependants
1974	68,880	14,690	³—	n/a	³—	1,140	³—
1975	82,410	24,940	³—	n/a	³—	1,610	³—
1976	80,740	25,940	³—	n/a	³—	1,500	³—

Kevin Taylor, formerly of Wood Road lane, Summerseat, Bury, by Greater Manchester police; and if he will make a statement.

I refer my hon. Friend to my reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Barrow and Furness (Mr. Franks) on 22 January 1990 at column 514.

Immigration

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list by nationality the numbers of people who have immigrated to the United Kingdom during the last 12 months for which he has figures.

The number of people accepted for settlement in the United Kingdom in 1988, analysed by individual nationality, is published in table 2 of the Home Office volume, "Control of Immigration: Statistics United Kingdom 1988" (Cmd 726). An analysis by geographical and nationality group of those accepted in the 12 months ending 30 September 1989 is published in table 1 of Home Office Statistical Bulletin, Issue 45/89, "Control of Immigration: Statistics—Third Quarter 1989". A copy of both these publications is in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list, in the Official Report, the total number of immigrants accepted for settlement in the United Kingdom for each year since 1974 inclusive, specifying how many in each were dependants of immigrants already settled in the United Kingdom from (a) the new Commonwealth, (b) Pakistan and (c) United Kingdom colonies.

The available information for the groups requested is shown in the following table. The figures of acceptances of spouses and dependants relate to the nationality of the spouse or dependant, not of the sponsor. They include spouses and dependants of sponsors born in the United Kingdom as well as of those who were themselves accepted for settlement, either at an earlier stage, or at the same time as the spouse or dependants. Information on spouses and children from Pakistan, along with those from India and Bangladesh, distinguishing those where the sponsor was born in the United Kingdom and those where he or she has earlier been accepted for settlement, is published in tables 3, 7 and 10 of Home Office Statistical Bulletin, Issue 44/89, "Immigration from the Indian Sub-Continent 1988", a copy of which is in the Library. However, corresponding information is not available for the other nationality groups requested.

	Total acceptances (all nationalities)	Acceptances of spouses and dependants
		New Commonwealth¹		Pakistan		Hong Kong BDTCs²
		Spouses and children	Elderly and other dependants	Spouses and children	Elderly and other dependants	Spouses and children	Elderly and other dependants
1977	69,310	16,760	³—	n/a	³—	1,090	³—
1978	72,330	18,870	³—	n/a	³—	880	³—
1979	69,670	17,210	³—	n/a	³—	1,040	³—
1980	69,750	16,490	³—	n/a	³—	1,160	³—
1981	59,060	14,440	³—	n/a	³—	980	³—
1982	53,870	14,260	³—	n/a	³—	680	³—
1983	53,460	13,430	³—	5,830	³—	680	³—
1984	50,950	13,050	³—	4,910	³—	790	³—
1985	55,360	14,160	³—	5,970	³—	700	³—
1986	47,820	11,460	³—	4,800	³—	520	³—
1987	45,980	11,220	³—	3,330	³—	550	³—
1988	49,280	11,900	1,750	3,610	450	660	120
¹ excluding Hong Kong.
² British Dependent Territory Citizens.
³ Figures for elderly and other dependents are shown for 1988, but for earlier years could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
n/a = not available.

Litter

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions there were for dropping litter in the last 12 months.

In 1988, the latest year for which figures are available, there were 1,760 prosecutions for litter offences in England and Wales. Information on prosecutions in 1989 will not be available until autumn 1990.

Horse Racing

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether he has reached a decision on an inquiry into racing finances; how the review of betting shop hours of opening, announced by the Department of Trade and Industry on 21 December 1989, fits into the general inquiry; and what is the likely timetable of this review;(2) whether he is still considering the Lloyds bank report on the privatisation of the horserace totalisator board; and when he proposes to start an inquiry into opening hours of betting shops; and whether he will mount a wide-ranging inquiry into every aspect of racing finances.

As to an inquiry into the financing of horse racing and greyhound racing, and the deregulation review of the opening hours of licensed betting offices, I refer my hon. Friend to my reply on 17 January to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Langbaurgh (Mr. Holt). Advice from Lloyds merchant bank on the feasibility of privatising the horserace totalisator board remains under consideration.

Firearms

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what definition his Department uses of a replica firearm.

Controls on imitation firearms are contained in the Firearms Act 1982. The 1982 Act provides that any imitation firearm which has the appearance of being a firearm to which section 1 of the Firearms Act 1968 applies and is so constructed as to be readily convertible to

fire live ammunition, is subject to the same controls as those imposed on actual firearms by the Firearms Act 1968.

Under the 1982 Act, the test of whether an imitation firearm is readily convertible to fire live ammunition is whether it can be so converted without special skill on the part of the person converting it and the work involved does not require tools or equipment other than such as are in common use by persons carrying out construction and maintenance works in their homes.

Gun Clubs

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further steps are proposed to impose tighter controls on gun clubs.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Dumfries (Sir H. Monro) on 14 November at column 208, which set out proposals to amend the criteria applied to gun clubs approved by the Secretary of State under section 15 of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988. I said that before reaching a final decision on the proposed new controls I would ask the firearms consultative committee for its views. I have now received and carefully considered the advice of the committee.As I originally proposed, I have decided on the grounds of public safety that any club which operates a scheme of uncontrolled day or temporary membership shall no longer be approved by me. However, in response to representations which have been made to me, by the committee and by many members of the shooting community, I accept that some provision should be made to ensure that the continued recruitment of new members to gun clubs is adequately safeguarded. I shall therefore permit novice members to receive instruction in an approved club in the safe handling of firearms, but without access to ammunition, on no more than four occasions a year. Such arrangements for a novice must be made by the club secretary at least 48 hours in advance. Approved clubs will also be allowed to hold guest days, on no more than four occasions per year, when limited numbers of people known to the club may be invited to visit the club by its secretary. On these limited occasions guest members would, under constant personal supervision, be allowed to handle firearms and ammunition. Clubs will be required to give reasonable prior notice to the local police of when they intend to hold such guest days. The police have statutory powers of inspection of approved clubs under the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988.I have also decided to implement my proposals, which the committee fully endorsed, that probationary members of approved clubs, when in possession of firearms or ammunition, must be under constant personal supervision by a range master or by a full member of the club who holds a firearm certificate, and that they should undergo a probationary period of not less than six months, during which they should receive a course of instruction on the safe handling and use of firearms. The committee will be providing further advice to me on the nature and standards of such instruction. I have also decided to implement my proposal that the number of probationary members of a club should not exceed the number of full members. Full members of approved gun clubs will continue to be allowed to become members of other approved clubs.I have also decided that probationary members should be sponsored by one current full member of the club and one person who knows the applicant personally.In considering individual applications by clubs for my approval, variations from these criteria may be permitted in exceptional circumstances, but considerations of public safety will always remain paramount.I am satisfied that these new criteria for club approvals are justified in the interests of public safety.The new criteria will be implemented with immediate effect in respect of any new applications for approval. Clubs currently approved will be advised of the changes and permitted a reasonable time in which to comply with the revised criteria.I understand that my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland will adopt the same policy for his approval of clubs.

National Joint Unit Records

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many searches of the national joint unit records were undertaken following a request by police officers at ports of entry in each year from 1980 to 1989, inclusive.

[holding answer 17 January 1990]: The information requested is not recorded separately. The number of searches of national joint unit records following requests from police officers either at ports of entry or elsewhere was as follows:

	Number
1980	48,090
1981	50,687
1982	44,696
1983	44,906
1984	47,779
1985	55,328
1986	59,481
1987	81,060
1988	77,472
1989	101,766

It is thought that the majority of these searches were carried out in response to requests by police officers at ports.

Prime Minister

Romania

Q19.

To ask the Prime Minister what representations she has received on recent political and economic developments in Romania.

I have received a number of representations, all of which have welcomed the end of Ceausescu's tyranny and the prospect of democracy in Romania. My right hon. Friend the Minister of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, recently visited that country. The Government have donated 1·8 tonnes of medical supplies and have so far contributed £1·42 million towards food and medium-term economic aid to Romania through the European Community.

Q120.

To ask the Prime Minister if she has any plans to visit Romania.

I have at present no plans to do so.

Czechoslovakia

Q26.

To ask the Prime Minister if she has any plans to visit Czechoslovakia.

I have at present no plans to do so.

Q152.

To ask the Prime Minister whether she will make an official visit to Czechoslovakia.

I have at present no plans to do so.

Bournemouth

Q44.

To ask the Prime Minister if she has any plans to visit Bournemouth during 1990.

I have at present no plans to do so.

Engagements

To ask the Prime Minister if she will list her official engagements for Tuesday 23 January.

This morning I had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. In addition to my duties in the House I shall be having further meetings later today.

Education And Science

Drugs

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what allocations he has made to local education authorities for initiatives aimed at combating the misuse of drugs in the latest available year in terms of (a) education support grant and (b) in-service training programmes.

Allocations to local education authorities under the new education support grant for preventive health education, and the associated LEA training grants scheme national priority area, both of which give priority to education about drugs, are as follows:

Allocations to Local Education Authorities for Preventive Health Education in 1990–91
	Education Support Grant	LEA Training Grant Scheme
London Boroughs	£'000	£'000
Barking and Dagenham	16·8	10·0
Barnet	25·0	17·0
Bexley	25·0	14·0
Brent	25·0	14·0
Bromley	25·0	15·0
Camden	25·0	8·0
Croydon	25·0	18·0
Ealing	26·2	15·0
Enfield	28·5	16·0
Greenwich	23·0	14·0
Hackney	25·0	10·0
Hammersmith & Fulham	23·0	7·0
Haringey	25·0	11·0
Harrow	25·0	13·0
Havering	20·0	15·0
Hillingdon	25·0	13·0
Hounslow	32·7	13·0
Islington	25·0	9·0
Kensington and Chelsea	25·0	5·0
Kingston-upon-Thames	30·8	8·0
Lambeth	26·6	11·0
Lewisham	25·0	13·0
Merton	25·0	9·0
Newham	53·1	15·0
Redbridge	25·0	13·0
Richmond-upon-Thames	25·0	7·0
Southwark	38·0	12·0
Sutton	18·9	10·0
Tower Hamlets	25·0	10·0
Waltham Forest	25·0	13·0
Wandsworth	25·0	11·0
Westminster	25·0	7·0
Metropolitan Districts
Barnsley	25·0	14·0
Birmingham	140·9	72·0
Bolton	25·0	19·0
Bradford	45·9	35·0
Bury	24·2	11·0
Calderdale	25·0	14·0
Coventry	27·0	21·0
Doncaster	27·2	21·0
Dudley	25·0	20·0
Gateshead	25·0	12·0
Kirklees	32·0	26·0
Knowsley	72·0	11·0
Leeds	59·7	44·0
Liverpool	44·0	33·0
Manchester	38·8	31·0
Newcastle upon Tyne	29·8	17·0
North Tyneside	25·0	13·0
Oldham	26·2	16·0
Rochdale	25·0	15·0
Rotherham	25·0	18·0
St· Helens	25·0	14·0
Salford	25·0	15·0
Sandwell	25·0	21·0
Sefton	32·7	19·0
Sheffield	44·2	31·0
Solihull	23·6	14·0

	Education Support Grant	LEA Training Grant Scheme
South Tyneside	25·0	11·0
Stockport	25·6	19·0
Sunderland	23·0	21·0
Tameside	25·0	15·0
Trafford	25·0	13·0
Wakefield	27·4	20·0
Walsall	25·0	19·0
Wigan	29·4	23·0
Wirral	51·0	22·0
Wolverhampton	—	17·0
Shire Counties
Isles of Scilly	0·5	—
Avon	80·0	57·0
Bedfordshire	42·7	36·0
Berkshire	54·3	47·0
Buckinghamshire	52·5	39·0
Cambridgeshire	54·6	41·0
Cheshire	51·0	66·0
Cleveland	32·5	41·0
Cornwall	33·8	29·0
Cumbria	42·0	32·0
Derbyshire	48·4	59·0
Devon	75·0	58·0
Dorset	46·3	35·0
Durham	42·0	40·0
East Sussex	40·0	35·0
Essex	61·5	97·0
Gloucestershire	42·9	34·0
Hampshire	90·7	94·0
Hereford and Worcester	54·9	43·0
Hertfordshire	58·0	65·0
Humberside	62·6	58·0
Isle of Wight	25·0	8·0
Kent	74·5	95·0
Lancashire	100·0	94·0
Leicestershire	43·4	59·0
Lincolnshire	40·0	36·0
Norfolk	58·6	45·0
North Yorkshire	35·9	43·0
Northamptonshire	42·6	40·0
Northumberland	18·4	20·0
Nottinghamshire	48·5	64·0
Oxfordshire	41·5	32·0
Shropshire	33·5	27·0
Somerset	36·1	29·0
Staffordshire	66·5	69·0
Suffolk	51·4	39·0
Surrey	44·1	53·0
Warwickshire	40·0	32·0
West Sussex	51·8	39·0
Wiltshire	44·9	36·0
Total	4,000	3,000

Access Funds

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is his Department's estimate of (a) the average and (b) the maximum amount payable from the access funds; and whether any such estimates were taken into account when calculating the amount of money allocated to the funds.

The amount payable to individual students will be at the discretion of the higher and further education institutions which will be administering the access funds from this autumn. It is not therefore possible to make estimates of the sort requested. The overall provision for the funds reflects the Government's judgment of what is affordable and appropriate to meet the funds' objectives.

Disabled Students Allowance

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what percentage of the disabled students listed in his answer to the hon. Member for Exeter of 16 November, Official Report, columns 382–83, received no disabled students' allowance because they were in receipt of minimum grant.

Information about the amount of grant actually received by students who qualify for the disabled students allowance is not collected centrally.In 1987–88, the latest year for which figures are available, 25 per cent. of all mandatory award holders received no maintenance payments from their local education authorities because their parents', their spouses' or their own assessed contribution was sufficient to cover the entire grant entitlement. It is not known whether the same proportion applies to students qualifying for the disabled students allowance.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what was the total expenditure in each of the last three years by his Department on the disabled students allowance.

This information is not available in the form requested.In the academic years 1985–86 to 1987–88, the latest year for which figures are available, amounts assessed in respect of the disabled students allowance were as follows (cash prices):

	£
1985–86	106,036
1986–87	192,123
1987–88	157,586

The sums actually paid by LEAs will be less than this because parental, spouses' and students' own contribution to the grant will in some cases be sufficient to cover a proportion of the assessed disabled students allowance.

Student Loans

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how much of the access funds associated with individuals' difficulties caused by student loans will be allocated to Scotland.

The access funds are intended to help students who are in financial difficulties in spite of the availability of top-up loans, not because of them. A total of £1·4 million has been allocated to the Scottish Education Department for distribution to students at non-university higher and further education institutions in Scotland. Universities in Scotland will receive an allocation for their students from the Universities Funding Council. The council's total allocation is £5·6 million and it is for it to decide how much to allocate to individual universities.

Polytechnic Colleges

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has yet reached a decision on the creation of a new category of polytechnic colleges; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend is close to completing his consideration of this question and expects to write to the PCFC with his conclusions very shortly.

Local Education Authorities

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has any plans to abolish local education authorities.

No.

National Curriculum

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to set up the national curriculum working parties in (a) music, (b) art and (c) physical education; and if he will make a statement.

I hope that an announcement will be made soon.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what consideration has been given to the introduction of road safety into the national curriculum.

Aspects of road safety are or will be covered within national curriculum foundation subjects. It is for schools to decide how best to provide road safety education.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what assessment he has made of the sufficiency and adequacy of supply of books and equipment appropriate to deliver the national curriculum.

Since the national curriculum builds on current best practice, large-scale replacement of books and equipment should be unnecessary. The adequacy of current stocks for the national curriculum will vary between LEAs and schools. The Government are using the education support grant mechanism to support expenditure on books and equipment for this purpose. Otherwise, it is for each local education authority to determine how to deploy the total resources available to it in order to meet the requirements of the national curriculum, including for books.

Haberdashers' Aske's Schools

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is his policy on the payment of capital costs in respect of the establishment of a Haberdashers' Aske's city technology college in Deptford while it remains open to the governors of the present Haberdashers' Aske's schools to withdraw the notices to discontinue these schools.

No capital grant payments have yet been made by my right hon. Friend for the establishment of a Haberdashers' Aske's city technology college. The timing of payments, and what capital costs they meet, will depend on a number of factors including the power of the governing body of the schools to withdraw notice to discontinue the schools.

School Funding

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what estimates he has made of the amount of money raised by parents to fund basic school costs.

The Government are aware that many parents are willing to contribute additional financial support to schools, and welcome that. But my Department does not collect data on the scale of such contributions, or the uses to which they are put. Her Majesty's inspectorate collects some information as part of its routine inspection of schools, but not on a systematic basis. Its most recent assessment is set out in paragraph 56 of the senior chief inspector's first annual report, "Standards in Education 1987–88". A copy is available in the Library.

Surplus School Places

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what is the total number of surplus school places available for removal represented by decisions made by him or pending in respect of proposals for the closure or reorganisation of schools for each year from 1986–87 to the latest available year.

The information in respect of proposals on which my or my predecessors' decision to approve has been made, or which local education authorities have, in the absence of local objections, determined to implement themselves, is given in the following table; figures in respect of proposals on which a decision is still pending are not available. The figures are in respect of the calendar years in which the decisions were made.

Calendar year	Number of places
1986	62,828
1987	45,326
1988	27,170
1989	41,831

Eastern European Studies

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science if he has received the report on eastern European studies; and if he will make a statement.

I have received a copy of the report that was made to the Universities Funding Council, the successor body to the University Grants Committee that commissioned it. I shall respond to the report when I have completed my consultations with other Government Departments and organisations to which some of its recommendations relate.

Computers

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what recent representations he has received from parents objecting to their children using computers as part of their school lessons.

My right hon. Friend and I have received a number of representations from parents who are members of the Brethren. They object to their children using some applications of information technology such as computers, and are seeking the right to withdraw their children from the IT aspects of the national curriculum. The Government's view is that IT education is a vital part of preparing pupils for adult life and employment, and should therefore be a requirement rather than an option under the national curriculum in maintained schools. It remains open to parents with objections to aspects of the national curriculum to make alternative educational arrangements.

Pupils' Dress

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science (1) what advice he has issued to local education authorities concerning the admission to schools of pupils wearing dress reflecting religious belief; and if he will make a statement;(2) what information he has on the policy of city technology colleges concerning the admission of children wearing dress reflecting religious belief; and if he will make a statement.

Uniform and dress rules are matters for determination by individual local education authorities and schools, including city technology colleges. We look to LEAs and governing bodies, in devising these rules, to take account of the cultural and religious backgrounds of pupils. The Commission for Racial Equality has recently issued a code of practice for the elimination of racial discrimination in education, which my right hon. Friend has commended to school and college governing bodies. It includes guidance on dress and uniform.

Special Educational Needs

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science how many complaints he has received in each of the years 1985 to 1989 that a local education authority was in breach of its duty to identify and assess a child with special educational needs, as laid down in sections 4 and 5 of the Education Act 1981; on how many of these occasions he has used his default powers under sections 68 and 99 of the Education Act 1944; and if he will make a statement.

This information can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Higher Education (Fees)

To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Science what has been the outcome of his consultations on the introduction of differential fees in higher education; and if he will make a statement.

The Department's consultation paper, "Shifting the Balance of Public Funding of Higher Education to Fees", issued on 25 April last year, proposed a two-stage plan for increasing the responsiveness of higher education institutions to student demand.In the light of responses, we confirmed last July the first stage increase in the maximum fee for full-time undergraduate students met through the award arrangements from £607 to £1,675 for the academic year 1990–91.The consultation paper set a later deadline for responses to the second stage proposal for differential fees. Such fees would apply the market force of student demand more evenly across courses of different costs. Again, the overwhelming majority of the responses supported this proposal. A significant number of those consulted stressed the advantages of setting three fee levels, broadly on the same basis as those set for fees for overseas students, rather than the four proposed.The Government have accordingly decided to introduce differential full-time undergraduate maximum

tuition fees to be met through mandatory student awards for most first degree and designated comparable courses in publicly funded institutions from the academic year 1991–92 onwards. At 1990–91 prices, these fees will be set for three band levels as follows:

Band		£
1	Classroom-based courses	1,675
2	Laboratory/Workshiop-based courses	2,500
3	Clinical courses	4,500

We shall now consult the funding bodies and representatives of universities, polytechnics and colleges about the detailed arrangements for allocating courses to bands and the consequent adjustment between institutional grant and fees provision within the agreed expenditure plans in respect of the student numbers to which they relate.

Overseas Development

Eastern Europe

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a further statement on the special programme of aid for ex-Communist countries in eastern Europe.

We already have a know-how fund for Poland of £50 million, and a similar fund for Hungary of £25 million will come into operation from April. We have announced that we shall extend these funds to cover other east European countries once they are fully committed to reform.

House Of Commons

Parking

To ask the Lord President of the Council what steps he is taking to ensure the strict enforcement of the parking restrictions in the Palace of Westminster; and if he will make a statement.

I understand that, following two recent incidents, security staff have been instructed to ensure that the roadways through the inner courtyards are not blocked by vehicles making deliveries and that no unauthorised parking takes place.

Manchester Evening News

To ask the Lord President of the Council whether he will make inquiries as to why copies of the Manchester Evening News are no longer regularly available in the Tea Room and Smoking Room.

Until recently six copies of the Manchester Evening News were suplied free of charge and delivered by hand to the House by the publisher. Under new arrangements introduced by the publisher, three copies are now posted to the House.The authorities of the House have discussed these new arrangements with the publisher, who has agreed to re-provide six copies and to see what can be done about speeding up delivery arrangements. Meanwhile, copies of the

Manchester Evening News will be placed in the Tea and Smoking Rooms as soon as they are received.

Trade And Industry

Barlow Clowes

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he proposes any investigation into the role of Spicer and Pegler, now Spicer and Oppenheim, in the Barlow Clowes affair.

No. The terms of reference of the Companies Act 1985 inspectors investigating the affairs of Barlow Clowes Gilt Managers Limited and the affairs of James Ferguson Holdings plc enable them to inquire into the role of Spicer and Oppenheim if they consider it necessary for the purpose of their investigations.

Gatt

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether Her Majesty's Government support the view of the EEC Commission, in the current General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade negotiations, that there can be no negotiations on the United States proposal for ending agricultural dumping within five years; what assessment he has made of the impact of this view on the prospects for a successful outcome of the negotiations; and if he will make a statement.

The proposals tabled by the United States on agriculture in the current Uruguay round of multilateral trade negotiations, including that to eliminate export subsidies within five years, would cause a number of difficulties for the European Community. However, these proposals, like the others which have been tabled, including those by the Community, will be the subject of further negotiation. The Government are urging the Community to respond positively to proposals for more open trade in all areas and are keen to see a good liberal settlement for the Uruguay round as a whole. I am hopeful that a settlement can be reached in the agriculture negotiations which satisfies all parties, as this is likely to be an important element for the successful conclusion of the Uruguay round, and one to which the United Kingdom attaches great importance.

Public Safety

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he has any plans to introduce legislation to provide exemption from penalty under the Official Secrets Act for any scientist who speaks openly on matters affecting public safety.

The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has no plans to introduce such legislation.

Methanol

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will give the end uses of methanol for the most recent year for which figures are available and the number of United Kingdom manufacturers.

ICI is the only company which manufactures methanol in the United Kingdom.The main use for methanol is as a feedstock for the production of a wide range of other chemicals.The majority of methanol consumed in the United Kingdom is used in the production of formaldehyde (a component of melamine resin), methyl tert butyl ether (an octane enhancer for unleaded fuel), acetic acid, chloromethanes, methyl methacrylate (a resin), and methylamines (solvents and photographic developers).

Insider Dealing

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will list what current inquiries his Department are carrying out into suspected insider dealing rings in the City of London; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 19 January 1990]: Investigations into possible insider dealing offences are not normally announced. However, an announcement may be made in a particular case if it is considered to be in the public interest to do so. There are at present 18 cases where inspectors have been appointed by my Department to investigate possible insider dealing offences. In only one of those cases was the appointment announced. That investigation concerns possible offences with respect to the securities of Consolidated Gold Fields plc in the period from 3 August 1988 to 20 September 1988.

Attorney-General

Legal Aid

To ask the Attorney-General how many people used the legal advice and assistance green form scheme analysed by numbers of bills paid to the Legal Aid Board during the years commencing 1 April 1987 and 1 April 1988; and whether legal aid is reaching more people than ever before.

The Legal Aid Board did not take over the administration of the legal aid schemes until 1 April 1989. The figures requested for 1987–88 are available in appendix 1A of the Law Society's legal aid annual report for 1987–88. In 1987–88, 1,077,454 bills were paid and the figure for 1988–89 was 994,606.The number of full civil legal aid certificates issued compared with figures for five and 10 years ago indicates that more people than ever before are taking up legal aid. The figures are as follows:

	Number
1979–80	190,677
1984–85	221,209
1989–90	¹259,000
¹ Estimated.

Over the same period, expenditure on legal aid as a whole increased some fivefold.

Social Security

Social Fund

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Security how many people have been refused social fund loan applications by social fund offices in each of the ILOs of Redcar, Eston, Middlesbrough, Stockton and Hartlepool, on the grounds that the applicants could not afford to repay such loans.

[holding answer 12 January 1990]: The precise information requested is not available. Social fund officers may refuse an application for one or more reasons and each reason given is recorded. The information in the table gives the number of occasions between 1 April 1989 and 1 December 1989 when "inability to repay" was recorded as a (but not necessarily the only) reason for refusal:

Social Security local office	Number of refusals
Redcar	61
Eston	8
Middlesbrough	131
Stockton	108
Hartlepool	74

Foreign And Commonwealth Affairs

Namibia

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what considerations were taken into account by the international contact group of nations on the question of the exclusion of Walvis bay from incorporation into the independent state of Namibia.

In view of the apparently irreconcilable views of the parties concerned on the status of Walvis bay, the five Governments in the contact group decided not to include any provision on this question in their proposal for achieving Namibian independence.

Bulgaria

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on relations with Bulgaria.

We are pleased with recent moves towards democracy in Bulgaria, including the decision to restore their rights to the minorities in that country. We hope to have closer and more fruitful relations in future.

Hong Kong

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many representations he has received concerning Government plans to allow Hong Kong's ivory stockpiles to be exempted from the agreed worldwide ban on ivory trading; and if he will make a statement.

We have received a number of representations, both in favour of and against the entering of a reservation on behalf of Hong Kong. We took all these into consideration. We received no formal representations from other countries.

Whaling

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last made representations to the Japanese Government concerning its research whaling agreements; what representations he has made to them about a total ban on whaling; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs raised the Japanese scientific research whaling programme with Foreign Minister Nakayama on 12 January, as did my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister with Prime Minister Kaifu. The Japanese Government are well aware of our views on whaling.

Chemical Weapons

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions his Department has had with the chemical industry regarding the implementation of a chemical weapon convention.

Officials of this Department and other Government Departments concerned meet regularly with representatives of the United Kingdom chemical industry to discuss issues involved in the chemical weapons convention under negotiation in Geneva.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether any groups or individuals that are independent of the chemical industry will be invited to assist with the work of the national authority, established under the chemical weapon convention.

The structure and procedures of any national authority which might be established under a chemical weapons convention have yet to be decided.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether the oversight of the implementation of the verification procedures under the terms of a chemical weapon convention will involve any personnel or organisations that are independent of the chemical industry.

It is currently envisaged in the negotiations in Geneva for a chemical weapons convention that the implementation of verification procedures will be carried out by an international technical secretariat established by the convention.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is the Government's policy on the renunciation of the present reservation to retaliate in kind if subjected to chemical weapon attack, under the terms of the Geneva protocol 1925 (a) before a chemical weapon convention is signed, (b) upon the signing of a chemical weapon convention and (c)at some stage during the implementation of a chemical weapon convention.

The United Kingdom, in common with a number of other states parties to the 1925 Geneva protocol, entered a reservation in the interests of national security, permitting retaliation in kind if subjected to attack with chemical weapons. This remains the United Kingdom's position.On the second and third parts of this question, I refer the hon. Member for Western Isles to the answer given to his earlier question on 11 December last year.

Immigration

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) when Mr. Muhammad Jamshed, who has re-applied to the United Kingdom post in Islamabad to join his wife in the United Kingdom (Ref: IMM/80967), is to be interviewed; and why Mr. Jamshed, at the interview relating to his first application, was interviewed in Pahari;(2) when Ruksana Riaz (serial number: 66429), who applied to the United Kingdom post in Islamabad to join her family in the United Kingdom on 5 July 1989, is going to be interviewed.

In accordance with the guidelines on the handling of representations Members of Parliament immigration cases, issued to Members on 14 December 1988, I have referred the questions to the correspondence unit of the migration and visa department of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The hon. Member will receive replies from the unit as soon as possible.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information the Department has concerning the policy of (a) India, (b) Pakistan, (c) Israel, (d) Argentina, (e) Brazil and (f) Libya towards (i) the international nuclear non-proliferation regime and (ii) the 1968 nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

Of the countries listed in the hon. Member's question, Libya is a party to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT), and its nuclear facilities are under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards. The other countries are not parties to the treaty. All of them have nuclear installations, some of which are under IAEA safeguards while others are not.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information his Department has concerning the policy of (a) France and (b) the People's Republic of China towards the nuclear non-proliferation treaty; and if he will make a statement.

Both France and the Republic of China remain non-parties to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT).

School Fees

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the number of allowances and the total amount paid by the Government for boarding school fees in both the United Kingdom and overseas for the education of the children of (a) members of his Department, (b) members of the Diplomatic Services communication division and (c) the Overseas Development Administration including children of technical co-operation officers for the latest year for which figures are available.

[holding answer 19 January 1990]: An allowance towards the cost of their children's day school education at boarding schools in the United Kingdom is paid to very few members of the diplomatic services during home postings. Details of the amounts paid are subsumed in the overall figures for boarding school allowances. Separate statistics are not kept.Only limited information is kept by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on schools used overseas. Each mission maintains its own list of authorised schools.A total of £1,784,000 was paid in overseas education allowances for children of diplomatic services officers (including £79,000 for the communications division) and £286,000 to employees of the Overseas Development Agency (including technical co-operation officers) in the financial year 1988–89. Details of the total number of children for whom such allowances were paid are not available.

South Africa

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether any representations have been received on behalf of Sibusiso Senele Masuku and Oupa Josias Mbonane currently under sentence of death in South Africa for their alleged involvement in offences arising out of political protest; and what action he has taken about these cases.

[pursuant to his reply, 16 January 1990, c. 165–67]: We have in fact received a number of representations about Mr. Sibusiso Senele Masuku and Oupa Josias Mbonane. We consider intervening, exceptionally, in such cases only when all legal avenues of appeal have been exhausted. Our criteria are that the case must be clearly political and there must be strong extenuating circumstances or grounds to doubt the fairness of the judicial process. We are not prepared to make appeals in cases involving indiscriminate terrorism. With legal avenues yet to be exhausted, we have not intervened with the South African Government in these cases.

Wales

Nhs (Wales)

124.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make a statement on the proposed reorganisation of the National Health Service in Wales.

The Government's proposals for the further improvement of the National Health Service in Wales are set out in the White Paper "Working for Patients" (Cm. 555) and in my right hon. Friend's published letter of 1 August 1989 to health authority and family practitioner committee chairmen. Insofar as the proposals require legislation, provision is included in the National Health Service and Community Care Bill which is presently before the House.

Prescriptions

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many prescriptions were issued in each of the years from 1980 for (a) psychotropic drugs and (b) hypnotic drugs.

Information on number of prescriptions by type of drug is readily available only by therapeutic class. Hypnotic drugs are a class on their own, but psychotropic drugs are included in classes comprising sedatives, tranquillisers and anti-depressants.

Number of prescriptions (Thousands)
	Hypnotics	Sedatives/tranquillisers/anti-depressants
1980	1,149	1,925
1981	1,138	1,931
1982	1,129	1,885

	Hypnotics	Sedatives/tranquillisers/anti-depressants
1983	1,103	1,692
1984	1,137	1,598
1985	1,104	1,514
1986	1,216	1,493
1987	1,211	1,513
1988	1,139	1,383

Welsh Language Studies

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how he intends to implement those recommendations in the Welsh Language Board's strategy document, "The Welsh Language.—A Strategy for the Future," directly relating to the responsibilities of his Department;(2) what formal response he has made to the strategy document prepared by the Welsh Language Board and entitled "The Welsh Language—A Strategy for the Future" and its proposals for recommendations.

The proposals in the Welsh Language Board's strategy document are being considered together with other related proposals made by the board.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) how his Department proposes to implement the recommendations and policy contained in the Welsh Language Board's document, "A Bilingual Policy—Guidelines for the Public Sector:"(2)if he will arrange to review the Welsh language policy of each body of which the Welsh Office is the sponsor Department;(3)if he will issue guidance to local authorities in Wales based on the Welsh Language Board's document entitled, "A Bilingual Policy—Guidelines for the Public Sector."

The Welsh Language Board has already invited every public body in Wales to review its Welsh language policy having regard to the board's voluntary guidelines. The Welsh Office is among those currently considering its response. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State will consider whether there is need for further guidelines in the light of the overall response.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what criteria he will use in considering applications from schools to be excluded from the Welsh language teaching requirements of the national curriculum.

The Secretary of State has been considering this issue in the light of the responses to his consultation on proposals for Welsh in the national curriculum. As a result of that consultation the Secretary of State is publishing today a draft order in accordance with section 21(3) of the Education Reform Act, prescribing attainment targets and programmes of study for Welsh, together with an explanatory statement and an account of the consultation. Copies have been placed in the Library. Consultation on the draft order ends on 28 February and the Secretary of State intends to make a final order in April.The draft order and its associated document set out attainment targets and programmes of study which are designed to be achievable in schools of different kinds throughout Wales. Nevertheless there may be circumstances where a school may need to be exempted at least temporarily. The Secretary of State has powers to make regulations under section 17 of the Act to prescribe exceptions from the national curriculum. He will be consulting soon on proposals for such regulations.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list all suggestions he has received from the Welsh Language Board regarding statutory and administrative changes designed to enhance the use and status of the Welsh language, together with his response.

The Welsh Language Board's main proposals are those contained in its strategy document, its voluntary guidelines for the public and private sectors, and its draft Welsh Language Bill. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is considering the practical implications of the board's proposals before he responds. In addition, there has been considerable progress on a range of other matters concerning legislation and administrative practice which have been raised by the board.

Circulars

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many circulars and circular letters have been issued by his Department's education division since 1 January 1989; and how many were (a) in Welsh and (b) bilingual.

Forty-seven circulars and circular letters have been issued, of which 13 were bilingual. None was issued in Welsh only.

Language Studies

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he has invited the national language unit to undertake any specific tasks with regard to the teaching of Welsh and French in the national curriculum in Wales;(2) if he will make a statement on the role of the national language unit in the implementation of the national curriculum in Wales;when the national language unit was last subject to inspection by Her Majesty's inspectorate.

The national language unit is one of the agencies involved in preparing Welsh language materials for the national curriculum. Grants have been given to enable the unit to employ development officers for Welsh and modern foreign languages including French. The language unit has not been the subject of a report by Her Majesty's inspectorate.

Simultaneous Translations

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list all meetings between his Department and outside bodies at which simultaneous translation has been used, indicating the language used, since January 1989.

There are numerous such meetings, but the Department holds no central record of such meetings.

Appointments

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list (a) the organisations to which he has the right to make appointments and (b) the appointments to public bodies and other organisations made by him and his predecessor since 1979.

:(a) The organisations to which I have the sole responsibility for making one or a majority of ministerial appointments are listed in the table:

Agricultural Advisory Panel for Wales
Agricultural Dwelling House Advisory Committee Panel of Chairmen—Wales
Agricultural Valuation Committee (Wales)
Agricultural Wages Committee
All Wales Advisory Panel on the Development of Services for People with Mental Handicaps
Ancient Monuments Board for Wales
Cardiff Bay Development Corporation
Committee on Opportunities for Volunteering
Committee for the Welsh Scheme for the Development of Health and Social Research
Community Health Councils
Court and Council of the National Library of Wales
Court and Council of the National Museum of Wales
Curriculum Council for Wales
Development Board for Rural Wales
District Health Authorities
Family Practitioner Committees
Forestry Commission Reference Committee Panel—Wales
Health Policy Board
Health Promotion Authority for Wales
Historic Buildings Council for Wales
Housing for Wales
Land Authority for Wales
Library and Information Services Council (Wales)
Local Government Boundary Commission
National Parks Committees
Place Names Advisory Committee
Rent Assessment Panel
Saundersfoot Harbour Commission
South Wales Sea Fisheries Committee
Sports Council for Wales
Standing Working Group of the Wales Advisory Body for Local Authority Higher Education
Teamcare Valleys Steering Group
Training Enterprise and Education Advisory Group
Urban Investment Appraisal Panel
Wales Tourist Board
Welsh Committee for Post Graduate Pharmaceutical Education
Welsh Committee on Drugs Misuse
Welsh Development Agency
Welsh Health Common Services Authority
Welsh Industrial Development Advisory Board
Welsh Language Board
Welsh National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting

The following organisations are those for which I have sole responsibility for a minority of ministerial appointments:

Council of University Colleges, Lampeter
Court and Council of University College of Wales, Aberystwyth
Court and Council of the University of Wales, Bangor
Court of the University College, Swansea
Parliamentary Boundary Commission

(b) This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Welsh Language

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will list the representations he has received against the Welsh Language Board's practical options for the use of Welsh in business;(2) if he will take steps to encourage businesses located and operating in Wales to implement the Welsh Language Board's practical options for the use of Welsh in business.

Businesses in Wales will wish to consider their own response to the board's guidelines for the private sector. No formal representations have been received following their publication.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will list the total direct expenditure by his Department in support of the Welsh language in each financial year between 1980–81 and 1989–90.

Direct Government support for the Welsh language is provided through grants for developments in bilingual education and for assistance to the Welsh language. The figures are shown in the following table:

Year	£
1980–81	893,000
1981–82	1,611,630
1982–83	1,755,726
1983–84	2,002,136
1984–85	1,986,825
1985–86	2,421,507
1986–87	2,527,755
1987–88	2,823,188
1988–89	3,345,987
¹1989–90	4,431,000
¹ Provision (outturn figures for other years).

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) if he will make a statement on his approach to the principle of equal validity in respect of the Welsh language;(2) what consultations he is undertaking with interested people and organisations on the Welsh Language Board's recommendations for legislation for the care of the Welsh language.

The Welsh Language Board has presented my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State with proposals for legislation based on the principles of equal validity. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is considering with the board the practical implications of these proposals.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy that Welsh-speakers should have the right to require all public bodies to deal with them, in writing and verbally, in Welsh whenever practicable.

This is one of the features of the Welsh Language Board's legislative proposals which my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State is currently considering.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales whether the supplement to attract students to Welsh medium initial teacher training courses has been effective; and if he will make a statement.

The incentive supplement was introduced in 1988 as a two-year pilot project aimed at increasing the supply of Welsh medium teachers in the secondary sector. The supplement was available only to those students who it is thought needed extra tuition in Welsh so that they have the confidence to pursue their studies and classroom training through the medium of Welsh.In 1988, 30 students received a supplement and 26 of these subsequently obtained teaching posts in Wales. Forty-three students received supplements in 1989.I have concluded that the supplement appears to have been successful in encouraging Welsh-speaking graduates to pursue Welsh medium initial teacher training courses. However, in order that a more detailed evaluation of the scheme can be undertaken, I have decided that the pilot should be extended for a further two years.

The demand for Welsh medium teaching in Wales continues to increase in both primary and secondary phases. To ensure that this demand is met, I have asked my officials to discuss with the relevant initial teacher training institutions ways in which a supplement might be provided to increase the number of students attending Welsh medium initial teacher training primary courses.

Welsh Language Board

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will place in the Library copies of all correspondence between his Department and the Welsh Language Board.

No.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales (1) on how many occasions he has met the chairman of the Welsh Language Board to discuss the affairs of the board;(2) when he last held discussions with the chairman of the Welsh Language Board; what was discussed; on how many occasions he has met the Welsh Language Board; and when his officials will next meet representatives of the Welsh Language Board to discuss the board's suggested legislation.

We have had one formal meeting with the chairman of the Welsh Language Board and his board. We have discussed issues relating to the board with the chairman on numerous occasions. Welsh Office officials meet representatives of the board as and when the need arises.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales when he proposes to make further appointments to the Welsh Language Board to restore the board to its original size.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has no immediate plans to make further appointments.

Pharmacists

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will make it his policy to expand the definition of pharmaceutical services in order to use the expertise of pharmacists in matters like health education, supervision of dispensing in residential homes, preventive work, and services to people in sheltered accommodation in Wales.

The Government's policy on developing the role of the community pharmacist was set out in chapter 6 of "Promoting Better Health" (Cm 249).The majority of the measures proposed in the White Paper have now been implemented. For example, new allowances have been introduced for pharmacists who participate in schemes to provide advice to residential homes, and also for those who maintain records of medicines supplied to certain patients on long-term medication. Funds have also been made available to support the enhancement of the health educational role of the community pharmacist.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what arrangements he intends to make in Wales to cover the responsibilities currently undertaken by the rural dispensing committee.

In line with the new management arrangements for family practitioner services, it is proposed that family practitioner committees will take all decisions of first instance in relation to dispensing. We shall be consulting the professions about the detailed arrangements for dealing with appeals as soon as possible.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what percentage of the income of pharmacies (a) in Wales generally and (b) in rural areas of Wales comes from dispensing.

Pharmacies' income can be derived from a variety of sources in addition to the dispensing of NHS prescriptions. The only information held centrally refers to NHS payments. In 1988–89 pharmacies in Wales received £143 million for providing pharmaceutical services.No separate statistics are collected centrally in respect of rural pharmacies.

Community Charge

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what advice has been given to employers in Wales about their responsibility for collecting cash from poll tax defaulters.

Attachment of earnings is one of the remedies which is available to a charging authority that has obtained a liability order from a magistrates court in respect of a individual who has failed to pay the community charge. The attachment order served on employers will contain all the information necessary for the correct deduction to be made.Community charge practice note No. 15, "Enforcement of the Community Charge", sets out a model form and explanatory notes which a local authority may use in correspondence with individual employers. Employers will be entitled to deduct £1 towards their administrative expenses each time an attachment is made.

Low Pay

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he has commissioned research concerning new policies to lessen the incidence of low pay in (a) Clwyd, (b) Gwynedd, (c) Powys, (d) Mid Glamorgan, (e) South Glamorgan, (f) West Glamorgan, (g) Dyfed and (h) Gwent.

No. Economic expansion and new investment are increasing earnings in Wales. Between 1988 and 1989 the average weekly earnings for full-time adults in Wales increased by 9·9 per cent., which was a higher increase than in six of the other nine regions of Great Britain.

Welsh College Of Agriculture

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the total number of students attending full-time courses at the Welsh college of agriculture, Aberystwyth, for each year since 1979.

The total number of full-time students attending courses at the Welsh college of agriculture, Aberystwyth for each year since 1979–80 is shown in the following table:

Academic year	Number of students
1979–80	229
1980–81	262
1981–82	288
1982–83	281
1983–84	282
1984–85	272
1985–86	276
1986–87	271
1987–88	225
1988–89	181

West Wales General Hospital

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many beds there were available for use by patients at West Wales general hospital, Glangwili, Carmarthen, at the end of each calendar month from 31 March 1989 to 31 December 1989; and what are the projected figures for 31 January, 28 February and 31 March 1990.

Information on bed availability is collected on a quarterly basis and the information for the first three quarters of 1989 is shown in the following table. No projections of available bed numbers are made centrally.

West Wales General hospital Average daily available beds¹
Quarter ending	Number
31 March 1989	509·4
30 June 1989	510·8
30 September 1989	500·4
¹ Includes mental illness and mental handicap beds.

General Practitioners

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many applications he has received for the creation of fund-holding general practitioner practices.

A booklet explaining the fund-holding initiative was issued to all Welsh GPs on 5 January. Included with the booklet was a form enabling practices to express interest in becoming fundholders. It is far too early to put a realistic figure on the level of potential interest from the inquiries that have come in since 5 January.

Teacher Training

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what was the recruitment to teacher training courses in 1988 and 1989 in the public sector and the University of Wales colleges.

Details of teacher training students recruited in 1988 and 1989 are as follows:

	1988	1989
Public sector
BEd Primary	580	709
BEd Secondary	69	66
PGCE Primary	167	161
PGCE Secondary	97	89
Total	913	1,025
University sector
PGCE Primary	136	206

	1988	1989
PGCE Secondary	425	447
Total	561	653

Recruitment to courses in the public sector increased by 12 per cent. and to courses in the University of Wales by 16 per cent.

Labour Statistics

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many self-employed persons have been taken into account in recalculating the unemployment percentages for each of the employment offices in Wales; and what was the source of these figures of self-employment and the date to which they refer.

I have been asked to reply as the methodology used to calculate unemployment rates in the United Kingdom is the responsibility of my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State.The smallest areas for which unemployment rates are calculated are travel-to-work areas. Local rates calculated as a percentage of the total work force were introduced for these areas and for counties in October 1989. These calculations incorporate local allowances for the self-employed based upon census of population and labour force survey results. The latest estimates relate to June 1988 and will be updated in the light of forthcoming information. These local self-employment estimates are sufficiently reliable to be used only as a small component of the work force denominator. Estimates of the total work force for these areas are available in the Library.

Transport

A1 (Accidents)

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the number of accidents, serious injuries and deaths, involving heavy lorries on the sections of the (a) A1(M) and (b) A1 that runs through South, West and North Yorkshire during the last five years, giving the location of such accidents; and if he will show in his answer (i) the approximate time of the accident and (ii) what type of cargo the vehicle was carrying or equipped for.

Not all the requested information is available. Details of cargo are not held on the road accident report form. The table below gives the number of accidents by time of day, and the number of casualties by severity:

Accidents involving heavy goods vehicles in south, west, and north Yorkshire A1 and A1(M) By hour of day, 1984–1988
Hour	A1	A1(M)
Beginning:
00:00	5	0
01:00	7	0
02:00	6	0
03:00	1	1
04:00	7	0
05:00	11	1
06:00	14	4

Hour	A1	A1(M)
07:00	26	3
08:00	27	4
09:00	23	3
10:00	32	2
11:00	23	5
12:00	34	1
13:00	29	6
14:00	22	2
15:00	21	1
16:00	19	3
17:00	17	4
18:00	11	1
19:00	9	1
20:00	5	0
21:00	2	1
22:00	1	2
23:00	6	0
Total	358	45

Casualties in these accidents
	Fatal	Serious	Slight	Total
A1	44	186	355	585
A1(M)	1	12	53	66
Total	45	198	408	651

As over 400 accidents are involved, I shall write to the hon. Member, giving details of the time of accident, the Ordnance Survey grid reference of the accident locations, and in the case of accidents near junctions, the number of the intersecting road.

London Air Traffic Control

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he is yet in a position to identify all the alternative sites for LATCC-2.

I understand that the Civil Aviation Authority has identified a number of possible sites for its new en route air traffic control centre, including one near Fareham in Hampshire, but that no decision has yet been taken.

Road Humps

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when the new regulations controlling road humps will be brought into force; and how soon the local authorities will be allowed to make road humps legally enforceable as a consequence of the new regulations.

These representations are in the final stages of preparation and will be laid before the House very shortly. We have now incorporated the additional relaxations designed to allow road humps in a wider range of circumstances and at lower cost, that were canvassed in our consultation exercise and widely supported.

Electronic Road Pricing

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether his study into electronic road pricing will consider the privacy implications of the ability to monitor the movement of vehicles; and whether he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend has made it clear that he sees major practical difficulties with the implementation of road pricing. The maintenance of individuals' rights of privacy would be an important consideration. There are no plans to introduce road pricing at the present time.

London Road Assessment Studies

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will extend the consultation period on the London road assessment studies until 31 March.

No.

Oil Tankers, Fawley

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will take steps to make public the findings and recommendations of the inquiries into the three incidents at Fawley involving the bulk carriers MV Worthy, SS Mobil Petrel and SS British Resolution; and if he will make a statement.

As the incident concerning the Mobil Petrel resulted in damage to the ship, it is being investigated by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch as a marine accident. A report of the findings will be published in due course. The MAIB is not involved in the incidents concerning the Worthy or British Resolution as they were not classified as marine accidents.

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if, in the light of the incidents involving bulk carriers at Fawley in the last four months, he has any proposals to change the way in which the port state control regulations are working; and if he will make a statement.

The way in which port state control is effected and inspections are carried out is subject to continual review. Account will be taken of any lessons to be learnt from the incidents at Fawley, when investigations have been completed.

A66

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to start work on improvements to the A66 between Scotch Corner and Penrith.

Work on improvements to the A66 between Bowes and the Durham county boundary is planned to start later this year. A scheme to improve the section from Stainmore to Banksgate in Cumbria is planned to start in April 1992.

Road Accidents

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals he has by which to meet his target of reducing road accidents by one third by the year 2000.

I refer the right hon. Member to my reply of 9 January to the hon. Member for Wakefield (Mr. Hinchliffe) Col. 584–85.

Birmingham Northern Relief Road

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has made available the inspector's report of the public inquiry for the Birmingham northern relief road to serious prospective tenderers; and whether the report will be made available to the eventual concessionaire.

This report has not been made available to prospective tenderers, nor will it be made available to the concessionaire. It is not relevant to the private sector proposals.

A2

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it the policy of his Department to provide lighting on all sections of the A2 which are of dual carriageway standard in Kent.

No. Provision of lighting on sections of trunk road is considered on the merits of the cases, and reflects safety, economic and environmental factors. We have plans to light the following lengths of the A2:

London boundary to M2
Brenley to Harbledown
Shepherdswell

Lorries

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he has given any general guidance to the local highway authorities and others concerned in dealing with the environmental problems caused by lorry traffic in residential areas and town centres.

I am pleased to be able to announce today the publication of two documents that address the problems that lorries can cause to local communities. "Lorries in the Community" and the "Lorries and Traffic Management" manual have been produced following a lorry management study co-sponsored by my Department, the Civil Trust and the County Surveyors Society. Copies of these documents have been placed in the House Libraries."Lorries in the Community" describes problems that can be caused by lorries and possible solutions, in an easily readable form. The traffic management manual gives comprehensive advice to professional practitioners and planners on the types of measures available to deal with such problems.Free copies of both publications are being sent to all local highway and planning authorities in England.

National Finance

Tax Allowances

128.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a table showing information available to him on the tax allowances and tax reliefs given to single people and one and two-earner married couples in (a) Germany, (b) Italy, (c) France, (d) United States of America and (e) Holland with those in the United Kingdom together with the income band at each income tax rate chargeable.

Available information is given in the tables, which are supplemented by notes. All amounts have been converted to sterling using the latest available purchasing power parities.

Tax allowances
	Year of income	Single £	One-earner married couple £	Two-earner married couple £
Germany	1990	1,421	2,841	2,841
Italy	1989	Nil	1,930	1,930
France	1989	1,425	2,850	2,850
United States of America	1989	3,072	5,543	5,543
Netherlands	1990	1,162	2,324	2,324
United Kingdom	1989–90	2,785	4,375	7,160

Notes:

1. In Germany and France there are no personal allowances as such, but the tax tables incorporate a zero rate band. The figures given are the maximum amounts of income subject to tax on which no tax is due.

2. In Germany there is also an employment deduction of £496.

3. In Italy there are no personal allowances as such, but a married man may deduct £193 from tax due and therefore is not a net taxpayer unless income exceeds £1,930. In addition, employees receive an earned income credit of £215 on tax due. Thus, married employees are not net taxpayers unless their income exceeds £3,312, and single employees are not net taxpayers unless their income exceeds £2,150.

4. In France employees may also deduct 20 per cent. of earned income and 10 per cent. for employment-related expenses.

5. The Netherlands has a 4 per cent. employment income deduction (minimum £52, maximum £258).

Income band at each income tax rate chargeable
Year of income	Taxable income bracket £	Rate per cent
Germany 1990	see Note 1
Italy 1990	0– 2,671	10·0
	2,671– 5,300	22·0
	5,300– 13,272	26·0
	13,272– 26,586	33·0
	26,586– 66,402	40·0
	66,402– 132,846	45·0
	over 132,846	50·0
France 1989	0– 2,850	0·0
	2,850– 2,980	5·0
	2,980– 3,531	9·6
	3,531– 5,582	14·4
	5,582– 7,176	19·2
	7,176– 9,009	24·0
	9,009– 10,903	28·8
	10,903– 12,579	33·6
	12,579– 20,959	38·4
	20,959– 28,826	43·2
	28,826– 34,097	49·0
	34,097– 38,787	53·9
	over 38,787	56·8
United States of America (single) 1989	0– 11,175	15·0
	11,175– 27,048	28·0
	27,048– 56,084	33·0
	over 56,084	28·0
(married, joint returns) 1989	0– 18,645	15·0
	18,645– 45,090	28·0
	45,090– 93,566	33·0
	over 93,566	28·0
(married, separate returns)	0– 9,322	15·0
	9,322– 22,545	28·0
	22,545– 71,021	33·0
	over 71,021	28·0
Netherlands 1990	0– 10,718	35·1
	10,718– 21,436	50·0
	over 21,436	60·0
United Kingdom 1989–90	0—20,700	25·0
	over 20,700	40·0

Notes:

1. In Germany tax rates rise gradually from 19 per cent. to a top rate of 53 per cent. The top rate is reached at a taxable income of £29,787 (single) and £59,574 (married couple, joint return).

2. The income given for France are halved in the case of a single person.

Taxation

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer (1) how much income tax receipts would be reduced in a full year, at 1989–90 income levels, with a 5p reduction in the basic rate of tax, assuming the basic rate limit was reduced from £20,700 taxable income to £12,000;(2) how much income tax receipts would be reduced in a full year, at 1989–90 income levels, with a 5p reduction in the basic rate of tax, assuming the basic rate limit was reduced from £20,700 taxable income to £15,000.

The direct revenue cost in a full year, at 1989–90 income levels, of a 5p reduction in the basic rate of tax and, at the same time, a reduction in the basic rate limit from £20,700 taxable income to £12,000 is estimated to be £3 billion. If the basic rate of tax was reduced by 5p and the basic rate limit reduced to £15,000, the cost is estimated to be £5·5 billion.The estimates include the change in receipts of advance corporation tax and on consequent liability to mainstream corporation tax, but exclude the effects on capital gains tax and possible behavioural effects. They are based on a projection of the 1987–88 survey of personal incomes and are provisional.

Auditors

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will list the auditors to each company in which the Government maintain (a) a golden share and (b) an equity investment.

The auditors to each company in which the Government maintain (a) a special share or (b) a residual shareholding following privatisation (where different) are as follows:

	Auditors
(a)
Britoil	Peat Marwick McLintock
Cable and Wireless	Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte
Jaguar	Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte
Sealink	Touche Ross
British Telecom	Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte
British Aerospace	Peat Marwick McLintock
VSEL Consortium	Peat Marwick McLintock
British Gas	Price Waterhouse
Rolls-Royce	Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte
BAA	Touche Ross

	Auditors
British Steel	Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte
Mersey Docks and Harbour Company	Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte
Anglian Water	Price Waterhouse
Northumbrian Water	Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte
North West Water	Price Waterhouse
Severn Trent	Price Waterhouse
Southern Water	Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte
South West Water	Price Waterhouse
Thames Water	Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte
Welsh Water	Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte
Wessex Water	Coopers and Lybrand Deloitte
Yorkshire Water	Price Waterhouse
(b)
BP	Ernst and Young
British Airways	Ernst and Young

Excise Duties

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what percentage of the price of the most widely selling category of cigarettes is accounted for by excise duties, including value added tax; what are the comparable percentages for other dutiable goods, petrol, spirits, beers and wines; and if he will make a statement.

The burden of excise duty and value added tax as a percentage of the price for the range of dutiable goods specified in the question is as follows:

	Total tax as percentage of price
Cigarettes—20 king-size	72·7
Petrol—4 star leaded—per litre	63·4
Petrol—unleaded—per litre	59·3
Spirits—75 cl bottle	69·9
Beer—pint	32·6
Cider—½ pint bottle	20·1
Wine—still table—1 litre bottle	59·1

European Bank For Reconstruction And Development

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to ensure that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development seeks advice and information from think tanks and academics who support the creation of free market economies.

In the current discussions to establish the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Government are encouraging any measures which will assist the bank in promoting the creation of free market economies in central and eastern Europe.

Mortgage Interest Relief

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the cost to the Government of mortgage interest relief in (a) 1987–88, (b) 1988–89 and (c) 1989–90, estimated; and what proportion of this accrues to higher-rate taxpayers.

The information requested is given in the table. Estimates are based on projections of the 1987–88 survey of personal incomes. The figures for 1988–89 and 1989–90 are therefore provisional.

Year	Cost of mortgage interest relief £ million	Percentage of relief at excess over basic rate Per cent.
1987–88	4,900	9
1988–89	5,400	6
1989–90	7,000	6

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is his estimate of the income which would accrue to the Government from restricting mortgage interest relief to the basic rate of income tax.

The additional yield to the Exchequer from restricting mortgage interest relief to the basic rate of income tax is estimated to be £430 million at 1989–90 levels of income.

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what would be the cost to the Government of increasing the maximum limit for mortgage interest relief to (a) £35,000, (b) £40,000 and (c) £45,000.

Provisional estimates of the direct revenue costs of increasing the ceiling for mortgage interest relief are (a) £320 million, (b) £580 million and (c) £770 million. These estimates are at 1989–90 levels of income and current interest rate levels and exclude behavioural effects, which would be substantial for the higher ceilings.

Capital Gains Tax

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what was the total income to the Government from capital gains tax in the years (a) 1987–88, (b) 1988–89 and (c) 1989–90, estimated; and what is his estimate of the income forgone through the existence of rollover relief in each year.

Receipts of capital gains tax in financial years since 1987–88 have been as follows:

	£ million
1987–88	1,379
1988–89	2,323
1989–90	¹2,000
¹ forecast

These figures exclude receipts from capital gains of companies taxed within corporation tax. I regret that an estimate of the total cost of rollover relief is not available.

Hmso

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what has been the expenditure to date on consultants engaged on the grading structure study in Her Majesty's Stationery Office.

A total of £127,000 in 1988, and £95,000 in 1989.

National Savings

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to develop the role of the Department for National Savings; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave on 19 January to the hon. Member for Brent, South (Mr. Boateng), Official Report, column 437.

Scotland

Batteries And Accumulators

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) what steps his Department has taken to promote research aimed at reducing the dangerous substance content and increasing the use of less polluting substitute substances in batteries and accumulators and into methods of recycling;(2) what steps his Department has taken to reduce the volume of spent batteries and accumulators in household waste.

I refer the hon. Member to the replies given to him by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Industry and Consumer Affairs on Friday 19 January, volume 165, column 444.

Colliery Closures

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make any special provision for the development of rural areas affected by colliery closures.

Prosecutions for rape 1984–88
	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988
Persons proceeded against	43	80	65	64	82
Persons with charge proved	20	39	29	34	47
Custodial sentence	19	39	26	33	45
Less than three years	2	8	6	5	8
Three years up to five years	5	7	3	5	14
Five years up to 10 years	8	19	12	19	19
10 years and over	3	2	4	3	4
Indeterminate sentence	1	3	1	1	—
Other sentence	1	—	3	1	2

Gynaecological Facilities

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has held with Grampian and Highland health boards for the improvement of maternity, obstetric and gynaecological provision in Grampian west unit prior to the development of local facilities; and when he expects a final agreement to be reached.

Grampian health board has improved maternity, obstetric and gynaecology provision in Grampian west unit by increased consultant visits, more clinics and improved emergency arrangements. In addition agreement has been reached on the transfer of obstetric, gynaecology and paediatric services for patients west of the Spey to Highland health board.

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he expects to be able to announce a decision on the development of maternity, obstetric and gynaecological facilities in Moray subsequent to the option appraisal exercise carried out by Grampian health board and the recent recommendation made by the board; and if he will make a statement.

When I receive Grampian health board's formal submission of its recommended option will give it due consideration.

Substantial support is made available through the Scottish Development Agency and British Coal Enterprise. This will be continued under the Scottish Enterprise proposals. The Government are pressing for the inclusion of all mining areas in Scotland in the European Commission's RECHAR initiative.

Offences Against Children

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many men have been prosecuted for (a) rape and (b) sexual offences against children including incest, in each case of the last five years in Scotland; how many have been convicted in each of these years; of these, how many have not been sent to prison; and how many have been sentenced to terms of imprisonment of not less than three years, between three and five years, between five and 10 years and over 10 years, respectively.

The available information is set out in the table. Information which separately identifies sexual offences against children is not held centrally.

School Governors

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what is the new system of appointment for governors of further education colleges in Scotland; what scrutiny there is of appointments; and if he will make a statement.

Apart from the college principal, who is a member ex officio, members of college councils will be appointed by education authorities by 1 August 1990 after consulting such employer, trade union or other organisations as appear to them to represent interests relevant to the work of the college, and after considering any nominations by individual employers. I am sure the education authorities will scrutinise carefully candidates' suitability for appointment.

Core Curriculum

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the guidelines issued by the Scottish Education Department about the core curriculum for pupils in S3 and S4 in Scotland from 1992 are mandatory or optional; what choice will be available to pupils outside the core curriculum; whether the proposed core curriculum will apply to private schools in Scotland; and if he will make a statement.

The current guidelines on the secondary curriculum were prepared by the Scottish Consultative Council on the Curriculum and recommended to education authorities in Scottish Education Department circular No. 7/89. Schools are expected to adopt the guidelines with such variation of detail as may be appropriate to local circumstances. The core curriculum recommended for S3 and S4 occupies about 70 per cent. of available teaching time, thus leaving some 30 per cent. for optional courses. The guidelines have been made available to the independent schools, but it is for those schools to decide what use, if any, they will make of them.

Crofters

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will adjust the levels of grant and loans available under the crofters building grants and loan scheme in line with inflation.

The levels of grant and loans are currently being reviewed and revised rates will be introduced in 1990–91.

Mentally Ill Patients

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will take steps to ensure a co-ordinated approach between health boards and social health departments in Scotland on the provision of proper community care for long-term hospital patients who are mentally ill along the lines of that adopted in other parts of the United Kingdom.

As stated in the White Paper "Caring for People", we intend to secure close co-operation between local authorities and health boards in the provision of appropriate community care services through the development of community care plans based on planning agreements. The National Health Service and Community Care Bill includes a provision placing a duty on local authorities to prepare such plans while the same result will be secured in the case of health boards by administrative means. We intend to monitor carefully the progress made in the implementation of plans through the reports which each local authority and health board will be required to provide.

Training

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how much has been spent by central Government on (a) the employment training scheme and (b) YTS in Scotland in each year since the scheme's inception at constant 1988–89 prices.

[holding answer 18 January 1990]: The amounts spent by central Government on employment training and YTS in Scotland in each year since the inception of the schemes are set out in the tables at constant 1988–89 prices.

(a) Employment training Spend (1988–89 prices)
	£ million
¹1988–89	25·9
¹ Half year September to March only.

Note: This figure does not include training allowances or income support costs as such information is not recorded on a regional basis.

(b) YTS Spend (1988–89 prices)
Year	£ million
1983–84	93·5
1984–85	95·3
1985–86	90·3
1986–87	102·2
1987–88	102·2
1988–89	102·8

Student Allowances

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether students of 16 years and older at the commencement of the course at a Scottish central institution who qualify for extra allowances under the SED scheme will continue to receive their allowances, following introduction of the student loan scheme; and whether they will continue to be uprated annually.

[holding answer 22 January 1990]: Supplementary allowances will continue to be available to all eligible students under the student allowances scheme after the introduction of student loans in session 1990–91.The level of supplementary allowances for session 1991–92 and subsequent years will be considered at the appropriate time in the light of all the circumstances, including available resources.

Health Education

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland whether the review of health education has been completed; and when it will be published.

[holding answer 22 January 1990]: Touche Ross management consultants submitted their report on the review of health education in Scotland on 21 December 1989. Their conclusions are currently being considered and I expect to announce the Government's views shortly.

Employment

Youth Training Scheme

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give the latest details from the YTS leavers survey showing (a) the range and average wages earned, (b) the hours worked and (c) the types of jobs done by those leavers for those (i) in full-time work with the same employer, (ii) in full-time work with a different employer and (iii) in part-time work, giving the information separately for male and female and Great Britain totals.

The 100 per cent. follow-up survey of YTS leavers does not gather information about wages earned or specific number of hours worked.The tables show the numbers and proportion of leavers who found full-time and part-time work in each occupational group. The information is given separately for all leavers, male and female.

Type of work found for leavers in a job during the period August 1987 to July 1989
		Full-time job with same employer		Full-time job with different employer		Part-time job
Occupational classification	Total	Number	Per cent.	Number	Per cent.	Number	Per cent.
TOTAL
A. Administrative and clerical occupations	65,344	33,504	51·27	31,073	47·55	767	1·17
B. Creative, educational and recreational service occupations	4,511	2,298	50·94	1,918	42·52	295	6·54
C. Health, community and personal services occupations	11,508	3,887	33·78	5,662	49·20	1,959	17·02
C40. Hairdressing occupations	32,253	12,651	39·22	15,035	46·62	4,567	14·16
D. Selling and storage occupations	15,975	6,619	41·43	8,345	52·24	1,011	6·33
E. Scientific occupations	1,807	897	49·64	886	49·03	24	1·33
F. Catering, food preparation and processing occupations	16,329	4,368	26·75	9,247	56·63	2,714	16·62
G. Agriculture and related occupations	6,756	3,377	49·99	3,108	46·00	271	4·01
J. Transport operating occupations	3,717	1,718	46·22	1,716	46·17	283	7·61
K. Construction and civil engineering occupations	21,136	11,209	53·03	9,751	46·13	176	0·83
M/N. Engineering occupations	21,470	11,525	53·68	9,861	45·93	84	0·39
P. Motor vehicle repair and maintenance occupations	10,304	7,282	70·67	2,966	28·78	56	0·54
Q. Non-metal processing occupations	6,581	2,467	37·49	4,033	61·28	81	1·23
R. Printing occupations	3,204	1,574	49·13	1,596	49·81	34	1·06
S. Clothing and textiles manufacturing occupations	8,821	3,177	36·02	5,566	63·10	78	0·88
T. Security services occupations	3,525	201	5·70	3,290	93·33	34	0·96
Y. Other occupations	18,071	5,293	29·9	11,371	62·92	1,407	7·79
Total in a job	246,043	112,763	45·83	120,188	48·85	13,092	5·32
MALES
A. Administrative and clerical occupations	13,558	7,475	55·13	5,971	44·04	112	0·83
B. Creative, educational and recreational service occupations	2,303	1,240	53·84	930	40·38	133	5·78
C. Health, community and personal services occupations	1,310	299	22·82	845	64·50	166	12·67
C40. Hairdressing occupations	530	327	22·82	197	37·17	6	1·13
D. Selling and storage occupations	15,289	6,311	41·28	7,981	52·20	997	6·52
E. Scientific occupations	1,121	589	52·54	522	46·57	10	0·89
F. Catering, food preparation and processing occupations	6,974	2,197	31·50	4,166	59·74	611	8·76
G. Agriculture and related occupations	5,171	2,683	51·89	2,341	45·27	147	2·84
J. Transport operating occupations	3,199	1,518	47·45	1,468	45·89	213	6·66
K. Construction and civil engineering occupations	20,775	11,073	53·30	9,537	45·91	165	0·79
M/N. Engineering occupations	19,976	11,185	55·99	8,727	43·69	64	0·32
P. Motor vehicle repair and maintenance occupations	10,157	7,210	70·99	2,897	28·52	50	0·49
Q. Non-metal processing occupations	5,575	2,304	41·33	3,233	57·99	38	0·68
R. Printing occupations	2,395	1,221	50·98	1,160	48·43	14	0·58
S. Clothing and textiles manufacturing occupations	1,671	535	32·02	1,122	67·15	14	0·84
T. Security services occupations	3,099	159	5·13	2,913	94·00	27	0·87
Y. Other occupations	10,093	3,429	33·98	6,264	62·06	400	3·96
Total in a job	123,196	59,755	48·50	60,274	48·93	3,167	2·57
FEMALES
A. Administrative and clerical occupations	51,786	26,029	50·26	25,102	48·47	655	1·26
B. Creative, educational and recreational service occupations	2,208	1,058	47·92	988	44·75	162	7·34
C. Health, community and personal services occupations	10,198	3,588	35·18	4,817	47·23	1,793	17·58
C40. Hairdressing occupations	10,176	7,008	68·87	2,912	28·62	256	2·52
D. Selling and storage occupations	16,964	6,340	37·37	7,054	41·58	3,570	21·04
E. Scientific occupations	686	308	44·90	364	53·06	14	2·04
F. Catering, food preparation and processing occupations	9,355	2,171	23·21	5,081	54·31	2,103	22·48
G. Agriculture and related occupations	1,585	694	43·79	767	48·39	124	7·82
J. Transport operating occupations	518	200	38·61	248	47·88	70	13·51
K. Construction and civil engineering occupations	361	136	37·67	214	59·28	11	3·05
M/N. Engineering occupations	1,494	340	22·76	1,134	75·90	20	1·34
P. Motor vehicle repair and maintenance occupations	147	72	48·98	69	46·94	6	4·08
Q. Non-metal processing occupations	1,006	163	16·20	800	79·52	43	4·27
R. Printing occupations	809	353	43·63	436	53·89	20	2·47

		Full-time job with same employer		Full-time job with different employer		Part-time job
Occupational classification	Total	Number	Per cent.	Number	Per cent.	Number	Per cent.
S. Clothing and textiles manufacturing occupations	7,150	2,642	36·95	4,444	62·15	64	0·90
T. Security services occupations	426	42	9·86	377	88·50	7	1·64
Y. Other occupations	7,978	1,864	23·36	5,107	64·01	1,007	12·62
Total in a job	122,847	53,008	43·15	59,914	48·77	9,925	8·08

Labour Statistics

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what has been the latest number of (a) referrals to job clubs, (b) the number of starts with job clubs, (c) the number of job club leavers and (d) the number of job club leavers getting jobs or becoming unemployed for Great Britain and each Training Agency region for each month since May 1989.

From May 1989 to November 1989, 81,725 people started ith a job club. During the same period,

	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	Total
Scotland
Starts	1,452	1,841	1,202	1,586	2,017	1,898	1,909	11,905
Total leavers	1,810	1,942	1,460	1,661	1,968	1,744	1,708	12,293
Job entries	1,043	1,116	777	923	1,161	1,005	981	7,006
Other positive outcomes	225	254	188	275	316	228	268	1,754
Northern
Starts	743	860	714	689	1,075	1,082	982	6,145
Total leavers	876	995	723	691	988	842	878	5,993
Job entries	460	496	367	355	485	434	414	3,011
Other positive outcomes	116	140	116	83	131	110	127	823
Yorkshire and Humberside
Starts	919	1,033	991	926	1,339	1,317	1,305	7,830
Total leavers	1,006	1,240	877	915	1,268	1,133	1,081	7,520
Job entries	621	712	500	537	723	692	661	4,446
Other positive outcomes	128	188	113	124	231	157	150	1,091
North West
Starts	1,731	2,050	1,588	1,689	2,210	2,185	2,400	13,853
Total leavers	1,968	2,096	1,722	1,705	2,121	1,910	1,930	13,452
Job entries	1,080	1,185	971	920	1,189	1,049	1,063	7,457
Other positive outcomes	250	263	234	247	337	265	268	1,864
East Midlands and Eastern
Starts	798	1,093	833	856	1,110	1,064	1,204	6,958
Total leavers	919	978	923	816	1,079	959	908	6,582
Job entries	568	610	537	476	679	590	545	4,005
Other positive outcomes	108	160	150	161	194	161	156	1,090
West Midlands
Starts	811	1,028	899	971	1,234	1,317	1,303	7,563
Total leavers	961	1,037	862	912	1,239	1,173	1,171	7,355
Job entries	495	562	451	503	627	647	624	3,909
Other positive outcomes	164	180	163	148	217	206	173	1,251
Wales
Starts	510	684	599	637	758	813	781	4,782
Total leavers	597	780	598	563	757	661	673	4,629
Job entries	381	397	355	326	448	394	408	2,709
Other positive outcomes	97	86	94	98	125	82	84	666
South West
Starts	527	547	451	518	605	608	727	3,983
Total leavers	580	608	471	460	563	557	555	3,794
Job entries	323	354	254	266	326	345	298	2,166
Other positive outcomes	66	95	78	70	100	84	79	572
London and South East
Starts	2,075	2,544	2,394	2,436	3,062	3,093	3,102	18,706
Total leavers	2,276	2,617	2,389	2,277	2,777	2,615	2,670	17,621
Job entries	1,119	1,133	926	1,008	1,303	1,277	1,254	8,020

there were 79,239 leavers, of whom 42,729 left to start work, a further 11,954 going on to some other positive outcome such as training, education or self-employment. Regional and monthly breakdowns are given in the table.

Because of the very large number of potential referrals points, the employment service does not keep statistics of referrals.

All job club members are unemployed and separate records are not kept of the number remaining out of work on ceasing to attend.

	May	June	July	August	September	October	November	Total
Other positive outcomes	333	442	396	374	502	360	436	2,843
National
Starts	9,566	11,680	9,671	10,308	13,410	13,377	13,713	81,725
Total leavers	10,993	12,293	10,025	10,000	12,760	11,594	11,574	79,239
Job entries	6,090	6,565	5,138	5,314	6,941	6,433	6,248	42,729
Other positive outcomes	1,487	1,808	1,532	1,580	2,153	1,653	1,741	11,954

Unofficial Strikes

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment (1) how many unofficial strikes took place in the coal industry in 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989; (2)how many unofficial strikes took place in the construction industry in 1987, 1988 and 1989; (3)how many unofficial strikes took place in the docks industry in 1987, 1988 and 1989; (4)how many unofficial strikes took place in the motor manufacturing industry in 1987, 1988 and 1989; (5)how many unofficial strikes took place in the Post Office in 1987, 1988 and 1989; (6)how many unofficial strikes took place in the shipbuilding industry in 1987, 1988 and 1989; (7)how many unofficial strikes took place on the railways in 1987, 1988 and 1989; (8) what was the total number of days lost through unofficial strikes in the construction industry in 1987, 1988 and 1989;(9) what was the total number of days lost through unofficial strikes in the Post Office in 1987, 1988 and 1989;

Stoppages of work and working days lost in unofficial industrial disputes where a categorisation is possible
	1987		1988		1989¹
Industry SIC 1980 (Class)	Stoppages in progress	Working days lost	Stoppages in progress	Working days lost	Stoppages in progress	Working days lost
Coal (11)	291	198,000	141	81,000	138	49,000
Construction (50)	8	11,000	6	3,000	17	61,000
Motor vehicles (35)	80	65,000	39	30,000	42	86,000
Railways (71)	7	1,000	2	less than 500	—	—
Supporting and miscellaneous transport services² (76, 77)	5	5,000	7	8,000	6	6,000
Other transport equipment³ (36)	9	20,000	17	29,000	8	17,000
Other transport and communication⁴ (75, 79)	91	55,000	61	1,100,000	23	10,000
¹ Data are for the period January to November 1989 and are provisional.
² Data for the docks industry are included with the Supporting and miscellaneous transport services.
³ Data for the shipbuilding industry are included with the Other transport equipment sector.
⁴ Data for the Post Office are included with the Other transport and communication sector.

Restart

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how many and what percentage of unemployed claimants called for Restart interviews have (a) stopped claiming benefit and (b) obtained regular full-time work, for the most recent convenient period.

The aim of the Restart programme is to make contact with longer-term unemployed people and provide information and advice about opportunities to help them back to work. We do not collect information on how many people stop claiming benefit or obtain regular full-time employment as a result of being called for a Restart interview.

(10) what was the total number of days lost through unofficial strikes in the coal industry in 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989;

(11) what was the total number of days lost through unofficial strikes on the railways in 1987, 1988 and 1989;

(12) what was the total number of days lost through unofficial strikes in the motor manufacturing industry in 1987, 1988 and 1989;

(13) what was the total number of days lost through unofficial strikes in the docks industry in 1987, 1988 and 1989;

(14) what was the total number of days lost through unofficial strikes in the shipbuilding industry in 1987, 1988 and 1989.

Data on stoppages of work and working days lost in unofficial disputes, where it is possible to make this distinction, are given in table 1. The statistics requested for years prior to 1987 are not available. Statistics for the docks and shipbuilding industries are not available except at disproportionate cost. Statistics on disputes solely in the Post Office are confidential. Where data are not available for a specific industry, the statistics for the broad industry classification into which they fall are given.

Burns Day

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will introduce legislation to make Burns day a United Kingdom public holiday annually on 25 January.

My right hon. and learned Friend has no such plans to do so.

Local Offices

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment if he will establish an integrated jobcentre and unemployment benefit office in Thornaby, Cleveland.

The employment service is working progressively to bring jobcentres and benefit offices together under one roof. This will provide a new and improved one-stop service.I will ensure that the hon. Member is informed as soon as a decision about the future of the office at Thornaby has been taken.

Private Mines

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment in how many private mines registers are kept of the names and numbers of employees working underground; and if there have been (a) any warnings issued by Her Majesty's inspectors and (b) any prosecutions initiated in respect of the requirement to keep such registers.

All coal mines are required to keep registers of the numbers of persons going below ground and these are inspected as a matter of routine by the Health and Safety Executive's mines inspectors.There have been no warnings issued or prosecutions initiated in respect of failure to comply with this requirement in the past five years.

Vocational Training

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment whether his Department will set up bursaries for young people aged between 16 and 19 years to pursue vocational training with companies located in western Europe; and if he will make a statement.

Opportunities for young people to spend part of their initial vocational training in other European countries already exists within YTS and European Community programmes for young people, including in particular the young workers exchange programme and Petra. I am keeping the need for further initiatives under review.

Mines Inspectorate

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment what records are kept by the mines inspectorate.

The mines inspectorate keeps records under the following general subject headings:

Accidents

Whether fatal or major, date, time, description of injury and details of dangerous occurences.

Premise

Address, premise type, names of officials, reports of inspections at premises.

Registers

Complaints received, exemptions issued, equipment approvals issued.

Prosecutions

Date case heard, number of charges laid, result, fines imposed.

Notices

Number of Improvement and Prohibition notices issued and to whom.

Circulars

Internal instructions and information circulars issued; publications circulated.

Abandoned mine plans

Number of Ordnance survey sheets, relevant county, renovation status.

In addition, administrative records are kept as appropriate.

Action For Jobs

To ask the Secretary of State for Employment how much of the expenditure on Action For Jobs television advertising in 1985–86, 1986–87 and 1987–88 was spent through the Central Office of Information.

All the expenditure on Action for Jobs television advertising in 1985–86, 1986–87 and 1987–88 was spent through the Central Office of Information.

Northern Ireland

Audiology

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the waiting list in audiology in Northern Ireland for (a) hearing tests and (b) fitting of hearing aids for the last three years for which figures are available.

Figures for audiology are not identified separately in waiting list data. In most cases a patient can expect to be assessed and, where appropriate, fitted with a hearing aid within three months of the first contact with his GP.

Beef

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what representations he has received about the profitability of the beef industry in Northern Ireland.

The Ulster Farmers Union has made representations to me about profit levels in the beef industry in Northern Ireland and I have had informative and useful discussions with UFU leaders on the matter.

Flooding

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on measures to reduce flooding.

The Department of Agriculture (NI) is empowered by the Drainage (Northern Ireland) Order 1973 to carry out drainage works on watercourses or works on sea defences where these have been designated by the Drainage Council for Northern Ireland and where, in the Department's opinion, works are expedient for the drainage of land. Decisions are informed by financial appraisal methods in use thoughout the United Kingdom.The Department's powers under this order are permissive and are directed towards a better drainage of land. The order protects the Department inter alia from liability for any damage which may happen to other land or property through or by the accidental overflowing of a watercourse.A high standard of flood protection is set in scheme proposals for urban areas, but the Department does not claim to prevent flooding in all circumstances.Total annual expenditure on drainage works in each of the next three financial years is estimated at £19 million.

Bank Robbery, Athy

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if, under the terms of the Anglo-Irish Agreement, he will call on the Government of the Irish Republic for an immediate report on the circumstances of the killing of a bank robber by armed police at Athy in the Irish Republic on Friday 12 January; if he will seek a judicial inquiry; and if he will make a statement.

This is not a matter which we consider appropriate to raise under the terms of the Anglo-Irish Agreement.

Fair Employment Commission

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which of the following employers in Northern Ireland were requested, prior to the nominated date of 15 January, to register with the Fair Employment Commission for Northern Ireland in accordance with the Fair Employment (Northern Ireland) Act 1989: (a) Xtra-vision Ltd, (b) The Bank of Ireland, (c) Irish Lights, (d) The Irish League of Credit Unions, (e) Irish National Foresters, (f) The Irish National Teachers Organisation, (g) The Irish Tourist Board, (h) Irish Life Assurance Co. Ltd, (i) Irish Transport and General Workers Union, (j) Irish Bonding Co. Ltd, (k) Bass Ireland Ltd and (l) Aer Lingus.

[holding answer 16 January 1990]: Under the Fair Employment (NI) Act 1989 employers, with the exception of certain specified public sector employers, whose concerns satisfy the conditions for registration are obliged to apply for registration to the Fair Employment Commission within one month from 6 January 1990 or, if subsequently, from the time they first satisfy the condition for registration.To assist registration the commission has issued application forms in advance to employers believed to have more than 25 employees, but it is under no obligation to do so and the duty to apply for registration rests firmly with employers.The commission will not make public details of individual employers whom it has invited to register. Once initial registrations are made, however, the commission will keep a register, open to public inspection, of trades, businesses and other activities in which people are employed.

Protected Routes

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many protected routes are maintained by the Department of Environment roads service in each district council area in Northern Ireland.

Brucellosis: reactor animals and herd breakdowns: 1980–89
	1980		1981		1982		1983		1984		1985		1986		1987		1988		1989
Division	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H
Armagh	14	8	12	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	17	2
Dungannon	18	8	10	2	0	0	0	0	1	1	2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Enniskillen	65	21	57	13	4	1	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1
Newry	21	9	1	1	7	1	5	2	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Newtownards	29	9	9	2	4	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
South Region	147	55	69	24	15	3	6	3	2	2	2	2	1	1	0	0	0	0	19	5
Ballymena	37	6	17	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	5	2
Coleraine	5	2	3	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	9	1
Larne	38	11	10	3	1	1	0	0	1	1	3	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0
Londonderry	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
Omagh	56	20	23	3	2	2	3	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	1	1
North Region	136	39	53	12	3	3	3	3	1	1	3	1	0	0	1	1	4	3	16	5

[holding answer 19 January 1990]: The Department of the Environment roads service maintains a total of 43 protected routes in Northern Ireland. It should be noted that some of these routes are common to more than one district council area.

District council area	Number of protected routes¹
1. Antrim	6
2. Ards	6
3. Armagh	4
4. Ballymena	4
5. Ballymoney	3
6. Banbridge	3
7. Belfast	7
8. Carrickfergus	2
9. Castlereagh	5
10. Coleraine	5
11. Cookstown	3
12. Craigavon	6
13. Derry	4
14. Down	5
15. Dungannon	3
16. Fermanagh	3
17. Larne	4
18. Limavady	4
19. Lisburn	8
20. Magherafelt	4
21. Moyle	2
22. Newry and Mourne	6
23. Newtownabbey	5
24. North Down	6
25. Omagh	3
26. Strabane	1
¹ A protected route is one on which the creation of new accesses and the intensification of use of existing accesses is curtailed as far as is practical in order to preserve a high level of service for the main road users and in the interests of road safety.

Cattle Diseases

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many incidences of (a) bovine tuberculosis and (b) brucellosis have been recorded in each year since 1980; how many herds were affected; and if he will give details for each Department of Agriculture sub-office.

[holding answer 19 January 1990]: Cattle and herd breakdowns for each divisional veterinary office area in respect of tuberculosis and brucellosis from 1980 to 1989 are given in the following tables:

1980

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

1987

1988

1989

Division

Total

283

122

Tuberculosis: reactor animals and herd breakdowns: 1980–89
	1980		1981		1982		1983		1984		1985		1986		1987		1988		1989
Division	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H	A	H
Armagh	166	70	130	42	140	58	96	49	148	55	176	58	114	43	52	33	118	57	317	100
Dungannon	168	43	209	60	106	39	106	57	165	82	178	63	75	49	69	47	83	57	103	67
Enniskillen	161	67	150	65	154	83	138	74	153	74	123	59	152	65	190	72	148	71	146	80
Newry	127	48	151	68	79	42	108	60	114	65	165	74	125	72	266	80	622	183	1,114	361
Newtownards	222	77	185	72	248	89	288	113	322	121	257	120	197	100	171	77	261	98	210	108
South Region	844	305	825	307	727	311	736	353	902	397	899	374	663	329	748	309	1,232	466	1,890	716
Ballymena	186	52	204	62	165	59	175	59	77	31	218	74	84	38	51	32	49	24	107	45
Coleraine	285	106	99	52	167	72	468	131	157	70	125	71	70	46	43	18	50	35	65	51
Larne	255	68	292	89	326	111	271	96	341	106	204	85	167	81	162	66	84	35	304	90
Londonderry	109	36	78	27	24	13	39	11	7	7	10	12	33	21	26	14	33	14	28	20
Omagh	102	36	144	43	90	38	113	60	21	19	51	31	23	16	13	14	22	19	107	38
North Region	937	298	817	273	772	299	1,066	357	603	233	608	273	377	202	295	144	238	127	611	244
Total	1,781	603	1,642	580	1,499	604	1,802	710	1,505	630	1,507	647	1,040	531	1,043	453	1,470	593	2,501	960

Source: Animal health veterinary statistics [Tables T3A and T5]

A = Animals

H = Herds

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what was the total amount of compensation paid by the Department of Agriculture in respect of (a) bovine tuberculosis and (b) brucellosis in each year since 1980; and if he will give details for areas dealt with by each departmental sub-office.

[holding answer 19 January 1990]: The available information, giving total expenditure, is shown in the table. This information cannot be broken down by divisional veterinary office area. Net expenditure is given in brackets, that is, compensation paid less moneys released for carcases.

	Tuberculosis £		Brucellosis £
1980–81	718,930	(389,073)	974,073	(491,441)
1981–82	614,265	(311,175)	498,631	(225,885)
1982–83	750,006	(382,910)	10,559	(8,558)
1983–84	766,585	(398,514)	8,590	(8,182)
1984–85	784,758	(465,382)	6,781	(6,781)
1985–86	740,547	(455,853)	8,015	(7,573)
1986–87	522,211	(319,791)	7,240	(7,240)
1987–88	717,363	(447,376)	8,071	(7,903)
1988–89	1,076,662	(646,931)	7,377	(6,612)

Parliamentary Boundary Commission

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what are the qualifications of the two members of the Parliamentary Boundary Commission for Northern Ireland whom he has appointed; and what criteria he applied for these appointments.

Both members appointed to the Parliamentary Boundary Commission meet the criteria that they should have relevant intellectual qualities, appropriate experience and/or professional qualifications, a commitment to public service and the ability to make independent and non-partisan judgments. Following normal practice, the views of the main political parties in Northern Ireland were sought before the appointments were made.

Energy

Energy And Environment Research Unit

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he or any of his Ministers have any present plans to meet the director and staff of the energy and environment research unit at the Open university.

No.

Sizewell B

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how many representations he has received calling for the Sizewell B project to be halted; and if he will make a statement.

The Government attach the highest importance to the completion of Sizewell B by Nuclear Electric. The station will maintain the PWR technology as an option for the future.

Colliery Sites (Environmental And Safety Work)

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy how much money has been spent by British Coal in each of the last five years on environmental and safety work at former colliery sites; and if he will make a statement.

This is a matter for British Coal.

Greenhouse Effect (Report)

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will make it his policy to obtain the report by Dr. Michael Grubb, published by the Royal Institute for International Affairs on 4 December, entitled "The Greenhouse Effect: Negotiating Targets."

A copy of this report is already held in the Department of Energy library.

Private Mines

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will list the number of private mines which had (a) up to nine, (b) 10 to 15, (c) 16 to 20, (d) 21 to 25, (e) 26 to 30 and (f) over 30 persons working underground in 1989.

My Department does not have this information. The British Coal corporation is the licensing authority and I have asked the chairman to write to the hon. Member.

Cegb Statistical Yearbook

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy if he will publish in the Official Report 1988–89 equivalents to tables 12, 13, 14 and 16 of the Central Electricity Generating Board statistical yearbook for 1987–88.

No. This is a matter for the Central Electricity Generating Board.

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy whether his Department was consulted about the omission from the 1988–89 Central Electricity Generating Board statistical yearbook, annexed to its annual report, of up-to-date information replacing that given in tables 12, 13, 14 and 16 of the 1987–88 yearbook.

My Department was not asked for its views on the omission.

Electricity Meters

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy who will pay for the examining and testing of electricity meters under schedule 7 to the Electricity Act 1989.

It is intended that the costs of examining, testing and certifying meters under schedule 7, paragraph 5(4)(b) to the Electricity Act 1989 will be paid by the person submitting the meters.It is intended that the costs of examining and testing meters under schedule 7, paragraph 7(3) to the Electricity Act 1989, will normally be paid by the electricity supplier concerned. Where persons other than an electricity supplier have required a meter examiner to carry out the duties given under schedule 7, paragraph 7, they may be asked to make a contribution towards these fees.

Nuclear Power

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy what is the basis of his Department's calculations that the cost of energy produced by nuclear power exceeds the cost of that generated by fossil fuels.

The Department's assessments of likely nuclear and fossil-generating costs are based on information supplied by the CEGB.

Agriculture, Fisheries And Food

Oilseed And Cereal Substitutes

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make it his policy to resist EEC proposals to levy new taxes on oilseed imports and imports of cereal substitutes.

The Government continue to press the case against unilateral increased import protection for oilseeds and cereal substitutes.

Scrapie

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what information he has concerning the geographical distribution of scrapie in sheep;(2) what information he has concerning the susceptibility of different breeds of sheep to scrapie;(3) whether he has any evidence to demonstrate any recent increase or decrease in the incidence of scrapie.

Scrapie is not a notifiable disease and I therefore have no reliable information about its incidence, distribution or breed susceptibility.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has concerning the vertical transmissibility of scrapie in sheep.

Detection of the scrapie agent in placenta and epidemiological studies of the natural disease in sheep have demonstrated that scrapie is transmissible from dam to offspring via the placenta.

Coastal Land Erosion

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many local authorities in England have applied for central Government financial assistance to alleviate the threat of coastal land erosion between 1979 and 1989; and how much money has been granted per annum to such schemes.

Since my Department became responsible for the administration of grant under the Coast Protection Act 1949 in 1985, a total of 55 local authorities have submitted proposals for approval and grant aid for schemes to protect against coastal erosion. We have no similar information for earlier years. Grant payments over the period from 1979 to 1989 have been as follows:

	£ million
1979–80	5·7
1980–81	7·1
1981–82	8·3
1982–83	11·5
1983–84	11·5
1984–85	9·1
1985–86	7·8
1986–87	14·0
1987–88	9·8
1988–89	12·8

Cattle (Import Restrictions)

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will list all those countries currently imposing import restrictions on live cattle or cattle products originating from the United Kingdom, indicating in respect of each country the nature of the restrictions.

It would be impracticable to publish in the Official Report the large number of health conditions imposed by importing countries on live cattle or cattle products originating from the United Kingdom. Import conditions reflect the requirements of Community rules, where they exist and, in other cases, the rules of the countries of destination.For live cattle these may include confirmation, as appropriate, of country/area/holding/animal freedom from specific diseases and possibly pre-export isolation and/or testing. In the case of cattle products, import rules may require that the products in question originate from healthy animals and have been produced or processed in a way that safeguards public and/or animal health. Importing countries generally require that live cattle or cattle products be accompanied by an export health certificate signed by an official veterinarian to confirm that the necessary conditions have been met.

Rabies

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what assessment he has made of the threat of rabies reaching the United Kingdom through infected bats; and what measures can be taken to prevent it.

There is no evidence of natural transmission to terrestrial mammals of the rabies-related virus found in some species of insectivorous bat on the continent. Therefore, while it is possible that an infected bat could be blown across the Channel on strong winds, the threat is extremely small. Some 600 bat carcases, submitted by bat groups and other organisations since 1987, have been examined with negative results. Imported bats are subject to six months quarantine or, in the case of vampire bats, life. If necessary powers would be taken to deal with any bat colony which might prove infected.

Hill Livestock Compensatory Allowance

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) if he will make a statement on the future level of hill livestock compensatory allowance;(2) if it is his intention to offset the shortfall in the FEOGA contribution towards the hill livestock compensatory allowance in 1991; and if he will make a statement;(3) what representations he has received on the future levels of hill livestock compensatory allowances; and if he will make a statement;(4) when he expects to make an announcement on the hill livestock compensatory allowances;(5) when his Department last reviewed the level of hill livestock compensatory allowance.

A statement on the outcome of the annual review of the economic conditions in the United Kingdom's hill and upland areas, including details of the arrangements for hill livestock compensatory allowances, will be made as soon as possible.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the total expenditure in each year since 1986 on hill livestock compensatory allowances.

The total payments in the United Kingdom on hill livestock compensatory allowances in each year since 1986 were as follows:

	£ million
1986	111
1987	113
1988	117
1989	¹118
¹ Provisional.

Slaughterhouse Regulations

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food how many prosecutions initiated by (a) his Department and (b) local authorities resulted in convictions for breaches of the slaughterhouse regulations in each of the last five years.

Enforcement of slaughterhouse hygiene legislation is the responsibility of local authorities (district councils). No records of enforcement actions are collected centrally.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will introduce an immediate scheme of slaughterhouse inspections by the state veterinary service without prior notification to the abattoir proprietors.

No. Local authorities (district councils) are responsible for the enforcement of hygiene and welfare standards in slaughterhouses. Officers of the state veterinary service make periodic visits to all plants to give advice. It is usual, and more effective, for arrangements for these visits to be made with the local authority and the management of the plant concerned. Exceptionally, unannounced visits are made in response to reports of problems at a plant.

Birds (Importation)

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what changes he is making in the quarantine regulations and practice in relation to the importation of rain-forest birds and parrots.

The examination by my officials of quarantine conditions for captive birds imported into this country, referred to in the reply given to the hon. Member for Linlithgow on 20 December 1989, Official Report, column 350, continues and I am therefore not yet able to say what changes may be made.

Farmers (Borrowing)

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has on the total amount borrowed by farmers in the United Kingdom in each year since 1983.

Information on the total amount borrowed by farmers in the United Kingdom is not available. However, figures for the total liabilities of United Kingdom agriculture which include borrowings by agricultural landlords as well as by farmers but exclude borrowing for private purposes are as follows:

	¹£ million
1983	7,300
1984	7,650
1985	8,250
1986	8,350
1987	8,550
1988	9,250
¹ At 31 December.

Interest Rates

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to alleviate the effects of high interest rates on small and medium-sized farms.

Policy on interest rates is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer. He has made plain the Government's belief that even those small businesses that are dependent on bank borrowing and are adversely affected in the short term by higher interest rates would be damaged far more by the resurgence of inflation that would otherwise occur.

Green Pound

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will make a statement on the current level of green pound exchange rates; and what action he intends to take to obtain a devaluation of the green pound.

The current level of our real monetary gaps, which represent the difference between green and market exchange rates, range from -9·567 per cent. for pigs to -17·990 per cent. for sheep. The Commission has proposed green pound devaluations as part of the 1990 price review, and these are currently under discussion in the Council of Ministers.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what steps he is taking to devalue the green pound.

The Commission has made proposals for green pound devaluations as part of the 1990 price proposals and these are currently under discussion in the Council of Ministers.

Less-Favoured Areas

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food when he expects to announce the results of appeals submitted to the European Commission for the designation of less-favoured area status for land in the United Kingdom.

As soon as we have a decision from the European Commission.

Fishing Industry

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if he will detail the total assistance given to the United Kingdom fishing industry in each year since 1974.

[holding answer 19 January]: The information requested is contained in the relevant chapter of the Government's expenditure plans for the years in question. Copies are available in the Library of the House. The plans show the direct expenditure on grant aid for the construction and modernisation of fishing vessels, harbour grants, decommissioning of fishing vessels, EC grant aid and expenditure on market support. There has also been substantial expenditure on research and other scientific work and on fishery protection. In 1989–90 the United Kingdom fisheries departments expect to spend £15·1 million on sea fisheries research and scientific investigation and £18·7 million on fisheries protection, including aerial surveillance.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what information he has as to the number of prosecutions in each European Community country in the latest year for which figures are available for (a) fishing with incorrectly sized nets and (b) overfishing.

[holding answer 19 January]: The information is not available in the form requested. However, the following tables show infringements of EC fisheries legislation which member states have reported to the Commission under regulation 3561/85 as having been brought before the relevant national courts:

Fishing with illegal gear
	1988
Belgium	6
Denmark	11
West Germany	4
France	174
Ireland	4
Netherlands	25
Portugal	3
United Kingdom	38
Spain	—

Illegal catch (resulting from direct fishery or by catch)
	1988
Belgium	—
Denmark	77
West Germany	—
France	12
Ireland	10
Netherlands	121
Portugal	—
United Kingdom	13
Spain	—

It is not possible to draw conclusions from these figures which relate to information reported to the Commission rather than any comparable basis of actual infringement.

Fish Stocks

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the national fixed percentage share of fish stocks for each European Community country in (a) 1983, (b) 1986, (c) 1989 and (d) 1990.

[holding answer 19 January]: Member states' fixed percentage shares of relevant total allowable catches were agreed as part of the common fisheries policy settlement in 1983. These fixed percentages have not changed since then, apart from minor adjustments to accommodate the accession of Spain and Portugal and the recognition of Hague preference in 1989 and 1990. The percentage shares are reflected in the quotas allocated to each member state under each of the 102 TACS which the Community sets each year. The quota figures for 1988, Council regulation 3977/87 (Official Journal 31.12.57 No. L 375), reflect the percentage allocations without any adjustment for Hague preference.

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if, in the light of the Tyrell committee's report, he will now introduce random testing for bovine spongiform encephalopathy in all cattle slaughtered for human consumption.

No. The Tyrell committee considered such testing to be of low priority.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has any evidence of bovine spongiform encephalopathy being caused other than by ingestion of scrapie-infected foodstuff.

There is no evidence to suggest that BSE infection under field conditions has been caused by any means other than by the ingestion of feedstuffs containing a scrapie-like agent. However, research is in hand on the experimental transmission of BSE by inoculation and orally and to determine whether maternal transmission occurs.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has asked the Tyrell committee to continue its role of review and co-ordination of work into bovine spongiform encephalopathy; and if he will make a statement on the future of the committee.

The establishment of a small group to provide advice on BSE and the other transmissible spongiform encephalopathies is currently being considered. We hope to make an announcement shortly.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has reviewed the regulations governing and procedures involved in the rendering of animal waste since the outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy; and whether he proposes to modify either.

Departments and agencies occupying accommodation at Brook lands avenue, Cambridge
Department/Agency	Staff in post at 1 January 1990	Space (square feet)	Accommodation charge² £
Property Services Agency¹	365	80,517	657,018
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food	302	91,643	747,803
Her Majesty's Inland Revenue	244	43,397	354,121
Ministry of Defence Land Agents	36	6,709	54,747
Her Majesty's Customs and Excise	32	6,735	54,958
The Crown Suppliers	15	3,139	25,612
English Heritage	13	1,871	15,266
Department of Transport	4	922	7,527
Department of Employment	4	2,489	20,307
Department of Energy	3	687	5,604
Ordnance Survey	3	1,061	8,660
Soil Science Survey	3	790	6,447
Department of Health	2	1,338	10,918
Rural Development Commission	2	1,883	15,362
Department of Social Security	1	3,611	29,468
Lord Chancellor's Department (storage only)	—	1,076	8,783
TOTAL	1,029	247,868	2,022,601

Feeding ruminant-derived protein to ruminant animals has been prohibited since 18 July 1988. The time and temperature combinations necessary to inactivate the BSE agent with certainty have not yet been identified. It would therefore be inappropriate at this stage to consider modifying the existing regulations controlling rendering practices.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, further to his answer to the hon. Member for Carmarthen (Mr. Williams) on 29 November 1989, Official Report, column 307, if he will give the number of cases of cows having been certified as contracting bovine spongiform encephalopathy in 1989 up to the end of December.

[holding answer 22 January 1990]: In 1989, 6,853 cases of BSE were confirmed in Great Britain.

To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food who receives compensation if a bovine spongiform encephalopathy infected animal is found in (a) a livestock market or (b) a slaughterhouse; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 22 January 1990]: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Caerphilly (Mr. Davies) on 18 January Official Report, column 409.

Environment

Brooklands Avenue, Cambridge

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish a table showing the Government Departments and agencies occupying accommodation at the Brooklands avenue site in Cambridge with effect from 1 January, indicating the number of civil servants engaged in each, the area of space occupied by each such Department or agency, the approximate cost per square foot of this accommodation, broken down by Department or agency, and the overheads attributable to each.

Following is the information requested.

¹ Includes 2,705 square feet vacant accommodation charged to PSA.

² Comprises notional rent at £5·46 per square foot, maintenance at £1·60 per square foot and rates (contribution in lieu) at £1·10 per square foot. The annual cost of fuel and utilities for all Departments and Agencies is estimated at £150,000.

Revaluation

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what are the total post-revaluation rateable values by standard region and by class of property.

1990 rateable values by broad property type
(£ million)
	Factories	Offices	Warehouses	Shops	Other properties
Northern	220·9	69·5	59·4	268·2	493·8
North West	503·6	259·0	233·7	629·2	839·1
Yorkshire and Humberside	412·3	158·3	178·4	484·0	714·7
East Midlands	390·4	103·9	177·2	377·4	555·8
West Midlands	475·3	183·6	223·0	499·3	662·7
East Anglia	208·8	108·5	115·3	249·4	296·3
South West	355·4	250·0	209·1	612·6	637·3
Greater London	671·8	4,496·6	625·3	2,160·9	1,986·5
Rest of South East	1,090·0	1,154·2	758·1	1,516·7	1,825·2

Rates

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) by what percentage the rate imposed by Bassetlaw district council increased in each year from 1980 to date;(2) by what percentage the rate imposed by Newark and Sherwood district council increased in each year from 1980 to date;(3) by what percentage the rate imposed by Nottinghamshire county council increased in each year from 1980 to date.

The percentage changes over the previous years are as follows:

	Bassetlaw DC Local Rate	Newark and Sherwood DC Local Rate	Nottinghamshire CC Precept
	per cent.	per cent.	per cent.
1980–81	+88·5	+46·3	+12·7
1981–82	+176·8	+67·7	+29·0
1982–83	-25·5	+16·9	+27·5
1983–84	-0·2	+0·7	+9·7
1984–85	-0·1	+25·1	+12·5
1985–86	+23·0	+17·2	+8·5
1986–87	+12·3	+6·0	+17·7
1987–88	+9·8	+0·9	+7·8
1988–89	+9·0	+22·5	+7·2
1989–90	+7·4	+7·9	+3·6

Local rate is the rate charged by the district council including the average parish rate; precept is the rate levied by the county council.

Land And Sea Environment

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list the reports on land and sea environment commissioned by his Department over the past five years; and whether they were published.

My Department includes a list of DOE-published pollution papers and reports in the digests of environmental protection and water statistics. This list is complemented by the list of published research reports given in the DOE biennal R and D reports. Both publications include reports on land and marine pollution and copies of both are held in the Library of the House.

The total non-domestic rateable values shown on the lists deposited with local authorities on 20 December by region and broad property type are shown in the table:

"Sustaining Our Common Future"

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how many copies of the document "Sustaining our Common Future", produced by his Department have been printed; and what attempts have been made to give the report a wide circulation.

A total of 10,000 copies have been printed of "Sustaining our Common Future", my Department's report on the substantial progress made by the United Kingdom in following up the recommendations of the report of the World Commission on Environment and Development. The report has been very well received and copies have been sent to, among others, hon. Members, other Government Departments, non-governmental organisations, local authorities and business organisations, as well as overseas Governments and participants in a number of international conferences.

Rate Support Grant

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what was the rate support grant as a percentage of local authority expenditure in (a) 1979–80 and (b) 1988–89.

Rate support grant as a percentage of local authority relevant expenditure in England was 49·3 per cent. in 1979–80 and 31·2 per cent. in 1988–89.

Thames Path

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what progress has been made in the establishment of a Thames path; and if he will make a statement.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment approved proposals for the establishment of a Thames path on 29 September 1989 and responsibility for its implementation now rests with the Countryside Commission and the relevant local authorities.

Carbon Dioxide

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment how much carbon dioxide is in the atmosphere now; at what rate carbon dioxide becomes absorbed by plants and plankton; at what rate carbon dioxide is being discharged into the atmosphere; what is his estimate of the amount of carbon dioxide permitted in the atmosphere before an increase in global temperature occurs; when the atmosphere will be saturated by carbon dioxide; and what will be the overall effect.

The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is currently about 350 parts per million by volume. Land and ocean-based plants are estimated to absorb some 800,000 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, which is approximately balanced by the natural annual discharges. Man-made emissions to atmosphere are estimated to be between 18,000 and 25,000 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. Any increase in atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide would be expected to lead to some global warming. The scale of the effect is currently under review by the UNEP/WMO intergovernmental panel on climate change. The measured rise of about 0·5 deg. C in average global temperature in the past 130 years is consistent with model predictions of the increase to be expected as concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases have risen from pre-industrial values. No projections of future man-made emissions lead to saturation of the atmosphere by carbon dioxide.

Green Telephone Line

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he has any proposals to establish a green telephone line in Britain.

No.

Greenhouse Effect

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what gases, other than carbon dioxide, are thought to contribute to the greenhouse effect; what is their percentage currently in the atmosphere; and which sources, man-made and natural, are the main causes for emissions of these gases.

Greenhouse gases, excluding carbon dioxide, their current (1988) average atmospheric concentration and the main sources believed to be responsible for their emissions are set out in the booklet "Global Climate Change"; copies of which may be found in the House Library.

Outdoor Leisure Maps

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment when he expects the Ordnance Survey to publish a revised outdoor leisure map of the Conwy valley based on the second series maps; whether the map will be printed back to back with the Snowdon sheet; and what plans there are for new outdoor leisure maps.

Ordnance Survey plans to publish a new edition of the outdoor leisure map of Conwy valley to second series specification during 1992. The map will be printed back to back with the Snowdon outdoor leisure sheet.

Ordnance Survey is continually reviewing its range of maps and services to ensure that the needs of the market are met within the resources available and that the required return on investment is achieved. The outdoor leisure map series is no exception to this and any change in outdoor leisure map coverage will be dictated by these marketing principles.

Climate Change

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will publish the membership of the inter-governmental panel on climate change.

The IPCC has no formal membership. Its meetings are open to member states of the United Nations, and are also attended by representatives of nongovernmental, national and international environmental and energy organisations.

Set-Aside Land

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he proposes to increase the sums available for the countryside premium on set-aside land, in terms of (a) the amount available for the scheme as a whole and (b) the premium payable per hectare.

I have been delighted by the response to the countryside premium in its first year; the Countryside Commission has drawn up agreements with farmers covering over 3,500 hectares of set-aside land, which will be managed to provide benefits for both landscape and wildlife and new areas of countryside for the public to enjoy. We need, however, to gain more experience of the operation of the scheme before taking decisions on any major changes to it.

Greenhouse Effect (Conference)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what papers were presented by his Department to the Royal National Institute for International Affairs conference on the greenhouse effect at Chatham house on 4 and 5 December.

My right hon. Friend gave a paper to the Chatham house conference on 5 December on the subject of energy and the environment.

Sites Of Special Scientific Interest

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list in tabular form the number of sites of special scientific interest which have been (a) irreversibly damaged and (b) damaged but reversible by (i) agriculture and forestry, (ii) activities for which planning consent was obtained and (iii) other courses, together with their proportion of total designated sites for each year since 1981.

Full information on the numbers of SSSIs damaged since 1 April 1984, and the numbers of SSSIs (re-)notified under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, is set out in the NCC's annual reports, copies of which are in the Library.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what powers the Nature Conservancy Council has to negotiate financial management agreements with owners and occupiers of sites of special scientific interest for the carrying out of operations or activities for the purposes of maintaining, enhancing or restoring the nature conservation interest of such sites; and how many such agreements were made in each of the last five years.

Full information on the number of management agreements reached by the NCC under section 15 of the Countryside Act 1968 is set out in the NCC's annual reports, copies of which are in the Library.

Toxic Chemicals

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will institute an immediate inquiry into how three vanloads of toxic chemicals, including cyanide compounds and phosphoric acid, came to be dumped in the Bowesfield lane area of Stockton-on-Tees on 18 January; and if he will make a statement.

An inquiry is not required. This is a matter for Cleveland county council as the waste disposal authority for the area. I understand that it has taken prompt and appropriate action to take control of all the material involved and will be considering the need for further action under its powers in the Control of Pollution Act 1974.

Ethanol

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give for the most recent year for which figures are available the volume of natural gas used in the production of ethanol.

The information requested is not centrally collected.

Transferable Discount Schemes

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will list those local housing authorities which are operating approved transferable discount schemes under section 129 of the Housing Act 1988.

The following 43 local authorities are currently operating approved cash incentive schemes:

London Borough Councils
Brent	Haringey
Bromley	Harrow
Croydon	Havering
Ealing	Wandsworth
Hammersmith and Fulham	Westminster
District Councils
Adur	Rushmoor
Arun	Shepway
Aylesbury Vale	Slough
Carrick	South Bucks
Colchester	South Kesteven
Gillingham	Spelthorne
Gravesham	St. Albans
Harlow	Swale
Hart	Tandridge
Kennet	Taunton Deane
Luton	Teignbridge
Mendip	Test Valley
New Forest	Tunbridge Wells
North Cornwall	Watford
Poole	Wealden
Rochester	Wrekin
Rochford

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what plans his Department has to require all local housing authorities to operate approved schemes under section 129 of the Housing Act 1988.

None. Cash incentive schemes, under which existing local authority tenants are assisted to move into homes of their own and so release vacancies for reletting, cam make a valuable contribution to housing the homeless, but it is for each authority to consider whether to seek approval for a scheme for its area.

Refuse Tips

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what research he has commissioned and proposes to commission on the best practice for management and after-use of large controlled household refuse tips.

[holding answer 19 January 1990]: Research into landfill practices was initiated in the early 1970s. The first major publication of results of the work was the so-called "Brown Book", the co-operative programme of research into the behaviour of wastes in landfill sites, published in 1978.Many of the results of the research are embodied in recent waste management papers, specifically No. 26 on "Landfilling Wastes" (1986), No. 4 on "Licensing of Waste Facilities" (1988) and No. 27 on "The Control of Landfill Gas" (1989). These papers provide technical guidance to the waste management industry.Currently my Department is funding a programme of research, costing over £1 million annually, into landfill practices. Topics covered include microbiology of landfill gas and leachate generation; mechanisms of gas and leachate migration and attenuation; leachate management; modelling, risk assessment and landfill monitoring and landfill reinstatement.My Department has arranged a conference on 1 March to present recent research results.

Lancashire County Council

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) what is the total revenue expenditure for Lancashire county council in 1989–90; and if he will make a statement;(2) what is his Department's estimated population for Lancashire and the amount spent by Lancashire county council per head of population, in 1989–90; and if he will make a statement;(3) what is the total rate support grant paid or to be paid, plus any other individual grants, to Lancashire county council in 1989–90.

[holding answer 18 January 1990]: The information is as follows:

	1989–90 £ million
Rate Support Grant	321·0
Specific and Supplementary Grants	79·3
Net Revenue Expenditure¹	783·3
Total population (June 1988)²	1·382
Net Revenue Expenditure per head	567·0

¹ Rate Fund Revenue Account net current spending on services, plus net loan charges, contributions to/from other funds and accounts and

net non relevant expenditure (such as net spending on Housing Benefits).

² Office of Population Censuses and Surveys latest estimate of total population. The aggregate of the estimated relevant populations for the districts of Lancashire used in the exemplifications placed in the Library of the House on 11 January 1990 is 1·048 million.

Rent Rises (South Hams)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will set out in the Official Report the basis of his Department's calculation that rent rises in council house property would be 95p per week as far as the housing stock in the South Hams is concerned.

[holding answer 22 January 1990]: We have, for guideline purposes, assumed an increase in national rent income of 10 per cent. (£444 million). We intend to attribute this increase to councils in proportion to the value of their housing stocks, subject to adjustments to reflect existing rents and to keep guideline increases within a range from 95p to £4·50 a week. On the basis of past sales, we estimate that the value of South Hams' housing stock accounts for 0·088 per cent. of the total value of the national council housing stock. A guideline rent, calculated as a proportion of the national total without further adjustments, would be £21·37. As this is less than South Hams' current average rent of £25·75, we have assumed a guideline increase of 95p, the national minimum, which is less than would be required to keep pace with inflation. Subsidy will be paid to the authority on the assumption that its actual rent increase follows the guideline, but the council is free to determine its own rents.

Rate Support Grant (Sunderland)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will give, at 1979 prices, the amount of rate support grant given to Sunderland for each year since 1979 inclusive.

[holding answer 22 January 1990]: The information is as follows:

Rate Support Grant—Sunderland
	Cash	Real (1979–80 prices)
	£ million	£ million
1979–80¹	65·6	65·6
1980–81	77·1	65·2
1981–82²	63·8	49·1
1982–83	64·7	46·5
1983–84	65·3	44·8
1984–85	65·6	42·9
1985–86	67·1	41·6
1986–87³	71·4	42·8
1987–88	78·1	44·5
1988–89	87·4	46·4
1989–90	86·7	43·0

Note:

The information given is not available on a comparable basis for all years ie.

¹ In 1979–80 and 1980–81 no RSG payments were made to Metropolitan County Councils and Sunderland's RSG was correspondingly higher in those years.

² In 1981–82—1985–86 inclusive RSG payments were made to Metropolitan Counties (and other upper tier authorities) and Sunderland's RSG was correspondingly lower.

³ In April 1986 the Metropolitan County Councils (and the GLC) were abolished and arrangements for paying grant changed accordingly.

Psa

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment (1) how many staff of the Property Services Agency are currently working in Hastings; and how many Property Services Agency staff it is anticipated will work in Hastings in each of the next three years;(2) what efforts he has made to find alternative Government work for those Property Services Agency staff at Hastings whom the Property Services Agency will no longer require; and what the results of those efforts have been so far;(3) whether he will make it his policy that sufficient Government work will be transferred to Hastings for Property Services Agency staff made surplus by the current reorganisation and preparation for privatisation.

[holding answer 22 January 1990]: At 1 January 1990 PSA services employed 1,265 non-industrial staff at Hastings. It is not possible to forecast future staff numbers since these will depend partly on how much work the agency is able to win in competition after it is untied on 1 April 1990 and partly on decisions about where some of the agency's activities will be located.Other Government Departments have been asked whether they have work which could be transferred to Hastings, to provide employment for the staff PSA will be releasing there. One Department has already expressed interest and we are hoping for more.

Pollution (Irish Sea)

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has about the quantities and types of waste dumped into the Irish sea from sources in Great Britain; and if he will make a statement.

[holding answer 22 January 1990]: Licensing the disposal of waste at sea is the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and his colleagues in Scotland and Northern Ireland. No licences have been granted for the disposal of liquid and solid industrial waste in the Irish sea and information on the disposal of sewage sludge and dredged spoil is given in the Ministry's, "Report on the disposal of waste at sea—1986 and 1987", a copy of which is in the Library (a similar report giving figures for 1988 is expected to be published shortly). Information on waste inputs generally in the Irish sea is given in the status report prepared by the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas, a copy of which has been placed in the Library.

Health

Eyesight Checks

11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has yet received the results of his monitoring of the effects of charging for eyesight checks.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has yet eceived the results of his monitoring of the effects of charging for eyesight checks.

65.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has yet received the results of his monitoring of the effects of charging for eyesight checks.

103.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has yet received the results of his monitoring of the effects of charging for eyesight checks.

The results of a survey of the number of sight tests in the first quarter of 1990 compared with earlier periods should be available by the early summer. A summary will be placed in the Library.

Cold-Related Deaths

12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about cold-related deaths.

48.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about cold-related deaths.

68.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about cold-related deaths.

96.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about cold-related deaths.

The five-year trends from 1955 to 1985 have seen the excess winter mortality—that is, the number of deaths that occur in the winter quarter in excess of the numbers that occur in the summer—decrease, from about 47 per cent. from 1951 to 1955, to 26 per cent. between 1981 and 1985 in Scotland, and from 68·2 to 29·3 per cent. in England and Wales.

Ambulance Dispute

13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent meetings he has had with the chief executive of the National Health Service to discuss the ambulance dispute.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the ambulance workers' dispute.

46.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the National Union of Public Employees' dispute in the ambulance service.

71.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will now meet representatives of ambulance staffs.

88.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received about the ambulance men's dispute.

97.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has met representatives of ambulance workers since their current dispute commenced.

115.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will state the current policy in the ambulance service dispute; and what action he now proposes taking.

116.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will now meet representatives of ambulance staff.

121.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he last met the National Health Service chief executive to discuss the ambulance service dispute.

I meet the chief executive of the National Health Service regularly to discuss the ambulance dispute. I have no intention of meeting representatives of ambulance staffs myself.

National Health Service Trusts

16.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the latest figure for the number of hospitals, health districts and specialist units which have expressed an interest in becoming a self-governing National Health Service trust.

A total of 190 units have expressed interest in National Health Service trust status, including a number with more than one hospital. Twelve expressions of interest cover all the facilities within the relevant districts, and 19 are single specialty units. Eighty of these units are considering the preparation of applications for the first wave, which we would expect to be established in April 1991. However, applications will not be invited until Parliament has approved the necessary legislation.

38.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provision his Department has made for ambulance services within district health authorities to become self-governing trusts; and if he will make a statement.

The Government regard all hospitals and a number of other services, including ambulance services, as potentially eligible to apply for National Health Service trust status when Parliament has approved the necessary legislation. A number of ambulance services currently provided by health authorities have already expressed an interest in becoming National Health Service trusts.

21.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will list the core services which self-governing hospitals must provide.

Core or "designated services" are simply those which can be provided only in a particular locality by a particular hospital which has become an NHS trust and to which district health authorities and GPs have no reasonable accessible alternative. This will vary in the light of local circumstances and the services available in each district. There is no basis upon which a national list could be compiled at this stage of all those local situations which will give rise to some services in some places being described as "designated services" when the first NHS trusts are established.

Health Authorities (Maintenance)

17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the total figure for the estimated maintenance backlog for health authorities.

19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the total figure for the estimated maintenance backlog for health authorities.

The first returns of information about the stock of National Health Service property, under the Korner requirements, are now being collected, but complete information will not be available until the figures for 1989–90 are received. Estimates have been received from 133 health authorities in respect of the year 1988–89. This indicates that in those authorities the total cost of bringing the estate to an overall condition which exhibits only minor deterioration amounts to about £1·2 billion.

Helicopter Ambulance Service

18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health which health regions have now established an emergency helicopter ambulance service.

This information is not available centrally, but I am aware that dedicated helicopter ambulances are now operating in the London area out to the M25 and also South East Thames and South Western (Cornwall) RHAs. In addition, there are joint police/ambulance service helicopter projects in operation in Sussex, Wiltshire and the Thames valley.

Acute Services (Bromley)

22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about the proposal of Bromley health authority to centralise all the acute services of the district in one purpose-built hospital.

Following the offer by the London borough of Bromley of a greenfield site in the geographical centre of the district, Bromley health authority is developing plans to centralise most of its acute inpatient services. The authority believes that in this way the best service will be offered to local people and the best use made of staff resources. Because of their scale, these proposals will need to be submitted to the RHA and, in due course, to Ministers for a final decision.

National Health Service And Community Care Bill

23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent by his Department, health authorities and family practitioner committees to prepare for the implementation of the National Health Service and Community Care Bill.

35.

74.

106.

In this financial year we expect to spend a total of £85 million on preparation for implementation of the Government's proposals to improve the National Health Service. This sum includes expenditure on such items as the creation of new consultant posts in expensive specialties and on staff training in better financial management.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he last met representatives of the black and Asian community to discuss the National Health Service and Community Care Bill; and which groups he met.

I met representatives of the Overseas Doctors Association on 11 July 1989, when we discussed a variety of subjects related to the black and Asian community, including the Government's proposals to improve the Health Service.On 31 January I shall be meeting representatives from the King's Fund for Health Services Development to discuss their work with ethnic minority groups. I shall also be visiting the National Community Health Resource on 7 February, again to discuss its activities in this field. I expect that during these meetings our proposals for the NHS and community care will be considered.There are also discussions taking place at the moment about the possibility of a conference with the Overseas Doctors Association specifically to consider the effects of the White Paper proposals for ethnic minority groups.

69.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many local authority places will be removed from health authorities in each district in Greater London, after the enactment of the National Health Service and Community Care Bill in its present form.

The information is as follows:

District Health Authority	Local authority members
Barnet	4
Ealing	4
Harrow	4

District Health Authority	Local authority members
Hillingdon	4
Hounslow and Spelthorne	5
Parkside	5
Riverside	5
Barking, Havering and Brentwood	5
Bloomsbury	5
City and Hackney	5
Enfield	4
Hampstead	4
Haringey	4
Islington	4
Newham	4
Redbridge	4
Tower Hamlets	4
Waltham Forest	4
Croydon	4
Kingston and Esher	4
Merton and Sutton	4
Richmond, Twickenham and Roehampton	4
Wandsworth	4
Bexley	4
Bromley	4
Camberwell	5
Greenwich	4
Lewisham and North Southwark	5
West Lambeth	4

49.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received from professional bodies and trades unions concerning the National Health Service and Community Care Bill.

We have had a large number of representations from a wide variety of sources.

36.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if it is his intention that health circular 89(5) on the discharge of patients from hospitals will apply when in-patient services are contracted under the provisions of the National Health Service and Community Care Bill.

Yes. It is intended that this circular will continue to be implemented by district health authorities and by NHS trusts. In securing good quality services for their residents when placing contracts, district health authorities will need to consider monitoring the performance of those providing the service.

Infertility Treatments

24.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will bring forward proposals to improve the range and availability of infertility treatments.

34.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will bring forward proposals to improve the range and availability of infertility treatments.

79.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will bring forward proposals to improve the range and availability of infertility treatment.

87.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will bring forward proposals to improve the range and availability of infertility treatment.

These matters are for individual health authorities to determine in the light of local needs and priorities. I understand that the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has just put proposals for funding a medical audit unit to the Department and that this will include a programme of work aimed at auditing the delivery of infertility services with a view to encouraging improvements.

Ambulance Service

25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has any plans to privatise the ambulance service.

I have no plans to privatise this service.

General Practitioners, Kent

26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the total number of support staff employed by general practitioners in Kent at present; and what the number was in 1979.

The total number of staff qualifying for direct reimbursement under the ancillary staff scheme in Kent increased by 78 per cent. from 1,109 (660 whole-time equivalents) in 1979 to 1,975 (1,116 whole-time equivalents) in 1988. A few general practitioners employ support staff outside the scope of the present scheme; information about these staff is not collected centrally.

Hospital Catering

27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance and resources he gives to health authorities for the maintenance of cooking and beverage preparing areas in hospitals.

It is for health authorities to devote appropriate resources to the maintenance of cooking and beverage preparation areas in hospitals from the funds allocated to them. Health authorities have a duty to comply with the provisions of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, and it is Government policy that they should comply with all other relevant statutes and regulations. The Department issues building guidance on the standards that it expects in new and upgraded food preparation areas.

Aids

28.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total level of Government spending on caring for AIDS patients in the years 1988–89 and 1989–90; and if he will make a statement.

Spending on care for AIDS patients is not separately identified. The specific provisions made available to health authorities in England as a contribution towards the costs of work to prevent the spread of HIV infection and the provision of diagnostic, treatment care and support services for people infected with the virus, including those with AIDS, were £58·74 million in 1988–89 and £121·90 million in 1989–90. In addition, an AIDS support grant allocation to local authorities of £7 million was introduced in 1989–90.

Dental Checks

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his latest estimate of the effects of charging for dental checks on dental attendances.

29.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is his latest estimate of the effects of charging for dental checks on dental attendances.

The annual data on dental examinations in England and Wales from 1984–85 to 1988–89 show a gently rising trend and we expect this to continue. As might be expected, however, attendances increased in the months prior to the introduction of the examination charge in January 1989 and fell immediately afterwards. It is too early to form a definitive view about any longer-term effects.

Nhs (Consumer Involvement)

30.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will bring forward proposals to improve consumer involvement in the running of the National Health Service.

40.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will bring forward proposals to improve consumer involvement in the running of the National Health Service.

92.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will bring forward proposals to improve consumer involvement in the running of the National Health Service.

93.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will bring forward proposals to improve consumer involvement in the running of the National Health Service.

The Government's proposals to improve the Health Service are based on a full recognition of the importance of the consumer of health care—the patient. Our proposals put patients first and give hospitals and their staff incentives to take account of the individual patient's needs. District health authorities will work closely with local interest groups and consider the views of users of services. Complaint procedures will be made easier. The interests of the local community will continue to be represented by community health councils, which will act as a channel for consumer views to health authorities and the family service authorities. The delegation of decision-making powers to hospital and GP level will ensure that local staff will have responsibility for responding to local needs. At least two non-executive members of each NHS hospital trust will be drawn from the local community. This all adds up to a package of measures designed to ensure that NHS consumers benefit from improved, better directed, more patient-responsive services.

Social Work Training

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the future of social work training.

31.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the future of social work training.

95.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the future of social work training.

I refer the hon. Members to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Glasgow, Rutherglen (Mr. McAvoy) on 16 January at column 195.

Community Care

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received about the role of voluntary organisations in providing care in the community; and if he will make a statement.

32.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what further representations he has received regarding the Government's proposals on community care.

39.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health which organisations concerned with community care he has met since the publication of the National Health Service and Community Care Bill.

60.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what representations he has received from voluntary organisations on the community care proposals set out in the White Paper "Caring for People".

83.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what further representations he has received regarding the Government's proposals on community care.

89.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what further representations he has received regarding the Government's proposals on community care.

91.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what further representations he has received regarding the Government's proposals on community care.

104.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health which organisations concerned with community care he has met since the publication of the National Health Service and Community Care Bill.

I refer my hon. Friend and the hon. Members to my replies on 12 December 1989 at columns 845-47. We have received further representations on the Government's proposals for community care. These representations have been from local authority associations, from individual directors of social services, from voluntary organisations, from carers' organisations and from independent providers of services. Most continue to express a general welcome for our proposals; detailed issues are being discussed with these and other organisations as part of our preparations for implementation of the main proposals in the White Paper, "Caring for People" in April 1991.

107.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure the involvement of qualified nurses in the move to care in the community for mental patients.

As our recent published White Paper on community care, "Caring for People", reaffirms, nurses represent an important skilled resource. It will be essential that health and social services authorities and voluntary bodies make best use of both their time and skills. We propose to build on nurses' existing contributions to the health and social care needs of mentally ill and handicapped patients discharged from hospital and living in the community.

62.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the Government's policy on the role of the private residential nursing home in the field of community care.

Our White Paper "Caring for People" makes it clear that we are firmly committed to a policy of community care which provides dignity and choice to frail and vulnerable people. While for most people this will be achieved by continuing to live in their own home, others would benefit from care in a more supportive environment. We believe that, along with other providers, independent sector nursing homes will continue to play an important part in meeting people's care needs.

Resource Management

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress is being made on the implementation of resource management.

33.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what further progress will be made with the resource management initiative in the coming financial year.

The resource management initiative was launched in November 1986.In March 1989 I announced the names of 50 hospitals starting resource management in 1989–90. I announced in December 1989 that 20 of those hospitals would invest in IT. The remaining 30 will invest substantially in IT in 1990–91. On 18 January I announced the names of 50 more hospitals which will implement the main resource management in 1990–91.Computerised training packages on diagnostic related groups (DRGs) and DRG group software have been issued to all acute hospitals and a cost allocation model to the 50 acute hospitals which started resource management this year. This model will be issued to all acute hospitals shortly.

Breast Screening

37.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress is being made in implementing a national breast screening service; and if he will make a statement.

The table lists those breast screening centres in England which had become operational by the end of 1989.Under the programme, all women aged between 50 and 64 years will be invited to be screened by mammography every three years; older women will be screened on request. The purpose of screening is to detect changes in breast tissue which might be cancerous at an early stage when treatment can be simple and most likely to be effective.Plans for extending the breast screening programme to cover all district health authorities in England are well advanced; a full nationwide service comprising about 80 centres (including mobile units) is expected to become operational during 1990.

The breast screening programmes in the other parts of the United Kingdom are the responsibilities of my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Wales and for Northern Ireland and my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.

Screening centres operational as at December 1989
Region	Centres
Northern	Gateshead
	Newcastle
Yorkshire	Huddersfield
	Hull
	York
Trent	Nottingham
	Leicester
	Lincoln
	South Yorkshire
East Anglian	King's Lynn
	Suffolk
	Peterborough
	Norwich
North West Thames	Barnet
	Charing Cross
North East Thames	Epping
	Bloomsbury
	East London
	Chelmsford and Colchester
	Whipps Cross
South East Thames	Camberwell
	Canterbury
	East Sussex
South West Thames	Guildford
	Worthing
Wessex	Southampton
	Isle of Wight
	Portsmouth
Oxford	Aylesbury
	Northampton
	Wycombe
	Milton Keynes
	Reading
South Western	Cornwall
	Avon
	West Devon
West Midlands	Stoke on Trent
	Coventry
	Dudley
	Walsall
	Birmingham
Mersey	Liverpool
North Western	Manchester
	Bolton
	Wigan

Family Planning

41.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about the family planning service.

55.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about the family planning services.

76.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about the family planning services.

113.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement about the family planning services.

The Government regard family planning as an important preventive service that contributes to maternal and child health and to the stability of family life. The emphasis of family planning services is on enabling people to plan and space their families as they would wish, with the consequent beneficial effects on health and the quality of life.The day-to-day management of family planning services is a matter for individual health authorities since they can best judge local circumstances and priorities. Planning guidelines for 1989–91, issued in July 1988, asked authorities to ensure that full use is made of family planning services as a resource in combating AIDS and to strike a balance between services provided by specialist clinics and those provided by GPs.

Disabled Persons

42.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the implementation of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986.

57.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the implementation of the Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation and Representation) Act 1986.

I refer the hon. Members to the reply that I gave the hon. Members for Knowsley, North (Mr. Howarth) and for Liverpool, Garston (Mr. Loyden) earlier today.

Medical Audit

43.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress is being made on the proposals for medical audit.

Encouraging progress is being made. Officials are working with members of the medical profession to develop and implement systems of medical audit. Across the country the Department has contributed £926,000 in direct funding to 43 projects which began in 1989. Regions and districts have also been funding projects of their own. Considerable further expansion is expected soon both in the hospital and community health service and in general practice. To enable this, my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State announced the provision of £31 million in 1990–91.

72.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a further statement on the recently announced £31 million for medical audit.

A total of £24 million is being divided among the regional health authorities in their proportion to their consultant numbers, subject to their submitting satisfactory medical audit implementation plans to the NHS management executive. A total of £5 million will be used in general practice. The remaining £2 million will be retained centrally for training and for projects which have national application.

General Practice (Computers)

45.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners are likely to be affected by the recently announced scheme to provide reimbursement for computers in general practice.

Potentially all medical practitioners could benefit to some extent, depending upon the circumstances of their practices. Details will be published shortly in the statement of fees and allowances.

Drugs

47.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on his proposals for the future supply of drugs to National Health Service patients.

The proposed introduction of indicative prescribing budgets will not affect the supply of necessary drugs to NHS patients. GPs will remain free to prescribe all medicines which are clinically necessary for their patients. Where there is a choice of equally effective drugs, GPs will be expected to take the relative costs into account. Indicative prescribing budgets will encourage more effective and economic prescribing and help to eliminate unnecessary expenditure in drugs, thus releasing money for other aspects of patient care in the NHS.

West Midlands Rha

50.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were treated in the West Midlands regional health authority area in 1988; and what the comparable figure was in 1979.

The information requested is given in the table.

Patients treated, NHS hospitals, West Midlands Regional Health Authority, 1979 and 1988–89
	1979	1988–89	Percentage increase
In-patient cases treated	547,773	689,457	25·9
Day cases	51,769	99,349	91·9
New out-patients	731,764	813,067	11·1
Total out-patient attendance	3,315,153	3,757,255	13·3

Source: Returns SH3 (1978 data), SH3a, KP70, KH09 and KH18 (1988–89 data).

114.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the allocation of funds to the West Midlands regional health authority for 1990–91.

Regional health authorities' initial cash limits for 1990–91 will be announced shortly. But, as my hon. Friend may be aware, we have already announced that the West Midlands regional health authority will receive a cash increase of 6·76 per cent. on its general revenue allocation for next year.

Nhs Indemnity Scheme

51.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether the National Health Service indemnity scheme for doctors in National Health Service hospitals is now in place.

Yes. With effect from 1 January 1990, health authorities are taking direct financial responsibility in claims of negligence against their medical staff. In December the Department of Health issued a circular to health authorities and a leaflet for all doctors and dentists in the hospital and community health services. A copy of the circular, HC(89)34, and of the leaflet, "Medical Negligence" are available in the Library.

Tuberculosis

52.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of tuberculosis were reported in the last year for which figures are available; and what were the comparable figures for the previous five and 10 years.

The information is shown in the table:

Notifications of tuberculosis in England and Wales for the years 1988, 1983 and 1978
Year	Notifications
1988	5,164
1983	6,803
1978	9,688

Nhs Reforms

53.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether there are any experiments being undertaken to assess how the proposed National Health Service reforms would work.

The Health Service is undertaking a wide range of projects designed to inform the implementation of the Government's proposals to improve services.

111.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress is being made on plans for the implementation of the proposed reforms of the National Health Service.

We are making good progress in putting into action the changes outlined in the White Paper "Working for Patients". We are confident that the NHS will be ready to implement the basic elements of the new and better systems of matching growth and resources with expansion of patient services by April 1991, once Parliament approves the necessary legislation. By 1990—91 the total expenditure on the implementation of the Government's proposals to improve the Health Service will exceed £300 million.We have issued detailed guidance on many subjects, including the education and training of non-medical staff. Guidance on the principles of the new contracting system was issued in September, and further guidance on additional aspects of the contracting system will be issued shortly.We have recently published a GP fundholder programme, which gives more details about the operation of a GP practice fund.A new working paper, the 11th in the series, has been published, called, "Framework for Information Systems: Overview". This working paper covers two documents issued for consultation, looking at the way ahead for information and information technology and concentrating on action in preparation for April 1991.We have launched a project to support district health authorities in detailed work in developing the key role which DHAs will have under the new system of identifying and obtaining the best pattern of services which will most effectively meet all the health needs of the population they serve.We have received over 180 expressions of interest from potential NHS hospital trusts. Seventy-nine of them are proceeding towards being the first wave of applicants for trust status within the NHS in April 1991. Subject to progress in Parliament, we expect many more to be ready for later waves of applicants in future years.We have made £2 million available for implementation of medical audit this financial year, and a further £26 million has been allocated to hospital and community health services for the development of medical audit in 1990–91. A £4·5 million scheme has been launched to develop information technology skills. Demonstration projects, aimed at improving the quality of care and services to patients, have been announced for five outpatient departments. The principles of general management are being introduced into the family practitioner committee system.Good progress is also being made in relation to medical education and research. As my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State explained in a speech on 10 July 1989, since sent to all hospital doctors, we intend to take powers to ensure, for instance, the continuation of high standards of undergraduate, postgraduate and continuing education and research in all NHS hospitals.We will also ensure that postgraduate training posts are provided in NHS hospital trusts in accordance with the national objectives set out in "Achieving a Balance". Medical education and research will be further enhanced by the proposed increase in the service increment for training (SIFT) to meet 100 per cent. of the median excess costs of teaching hospitals. This will be distributed by regions in consultation with universities.The National Health Service and Community Care Bill is now before the House.

Health Authorities (Maintenance Backlog)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the total figure for the estimated maintenance backlog for health authorities.

54.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the total figure for the estimated maintenance backlog for health authorities.

I refer the hon. Members to the reply that I gave the hon. Member for Peckham (Ms. Harman) on 10 January at columns 666-69.

Patient Services

56.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the use of contracts for patient services within the National Health Service.

I refer my hon. Friend to the reply that I gave my hon. Friends the Members for Taunton (Mr. Nicholson) and for Hexham (Mr. Amos) on 12 December 1989 at columns 843-44.

Health Promotion

58.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent initiatives have been taken by his Department to assist with health promotion and disease prevention.

We recognise the essential role of health promotion and disease prevention in sustaining and improving people's health. Recent major initiatives include:

(a) changes to the system of paying family doctors, which will be introduced from 1 April to encourage them to provide a wide range of health promotion and preventive activities. Examples include incentive payments for achieving specified levels of vaccination and immunisation and screening for cancer of the cervix; new payments for approved health promotion clinics; and a requirement on general practitioners to give advice on matters such as diet, exercise, alcohol, smoking and drugs;

(b) the holding of an expert symposium, jointly organised with the Health Education Authority (HEA), to assess the current and future spread of HIV and AIDS in the United Kingdom and to inform future development of the AIDS public education campaign. The proceedings of this symposium will be published shortly;

(c) the launch in December of the teenage smoking campaign, costing £2 million a year over the next five years and intended to dissuade young people from starting to smoke. National advertising is currently aimed at 11-15-year-olds;

(d) also in December, the making of a regulation under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 banning the manufacture and supply of oral snuff. The ban takes effect from 13 March 1990;

(e) further "Look After Your Heart" campaign national television and press advertising as part of LAYH's endeavours to encourage the adoption of healthier lifestyles;

(f) the preparation, with the HEA, of a further phase of a major information and education campaign on vaccination and immunisation for later this year.

112.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he will increase the level of investment in health promotion and health education programmes.

I refer the hon. and learned Member to the reply that I gave the hon. Member for Brecon and Radnor (Mr. Livsey) on 12 December at column 600.

Expenditure

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many district health authorities project a deficit for the end of the current financial year.

59.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many district health authorities project a deficit for the end of the current financial year.

61.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many district health authorities project a deficit for the end of the current financial year.

90.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many district health authorities project a deficit for the end of the current financial year.

Health authority cash limit spending is monitored by my Department on a regional basis and we do not expect any region to exceed its cash limit for the year. Information about the financial position of district health authorities is not collected centrally. The NHS is spending more money this year than last in real terms and is treating more patients.

Junior Hospital Doctors

63.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to reduce the number of hours worked by junior hospital doctors.

I shall be meeting the profession for talks shortly to discuss what further action might now be appropriate to reduce the number of junior doctors on onerous rota commitments and how best to take this issue forward. Reports have now been received from all regional health authorities on the results of our June 1988 initiative. They show encouraging progress, but more needs to be done to achieve further reductions.

National Health Service Funding

64.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on funding for the National Health Service for 1990–91.

In 1990–91 gross expenditure on the National Health Service in England is planned to increase to over £23·3 billion. In addition, if health authorities do no more than they have achieved in recent years, they will have a further £150 million from their cost improvement programmes. Taken together, this means that the resources available to the NHS next year will increase by the equivalent of nearly 11 per cent. in cash or about 5·5 per cent. in real terms.

British Medical Association

66.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he last met representatives of the British Medical Association; and what matters were discussed.

80.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he last met the British Medical Association and what subjects were discussed.

100.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he last met the British Medical Association; and what subjects were discussed.

119.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he last met the British Medical Association; and what subjects were discussed.

I refer the hon. Members to the reply that my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State gave the hon. Member for Glasgow, Central (Mr. Watson) earlier today.

Eye Hospital (Hampshire)

67.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he will give his approval for a new eye hospital for the Southampton and South West Hampshire health district, the details of which have been submitted to his Department.

The Department is responsible for giving approval in principle, within delegated limits, to any scheme which starts a cycle of project development with a total works cost of over £10 million. The total cost of the proposed relocation plan for the Southampton eye hospital is, I understand, around £4 million and therefore not subject to departmental approval.

Wandsworth Health Authority

70.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what has been the overspending by the Wandsworth health authority in the current financial year; and if he will make a statement.

Wandsworth district health authority reports an overspend at the end of November of £2·197 million. This is projected to rise by the end of the financial year to a figure between £2·5 and £3·1 million. South West Thames region has been discussing with the district a package of economy measures to reduce the overspend in 1989–90 and to produce a balanced budget for 1990–91. The district is still considering what action to take.

Inpatients

73.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what figure he has for the average number of inpatients treated each week by the National Health Service: and what was the figure in 1979.

The information requested is given in the table:

Patients treated, per week, NHS hospitals, England, 1979 and 1988–89
	1979	1988–89
Inpatient cases treated	103,848	126,654

Source: Returns SH3 (1978 data), SH3a (1988–89 data).

Mental Health

75.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made on the capital fund for mental health projects.

117.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give further details of the capital loan fund for mental health projects.

The intention is that the capital loans fund will operate from 1 April 1990. The total sum committed over the three years from that date will be £50 million. An executive letter is being issued to health authorities, which provides details of the new arrangements and asks for bids by the end of March for the year 1990–91.

General Practitioners (Earnings)

77.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will state the average earnings of a general practitioner in the current year and the year 1979; and if he will make a statement.

The intended average gross income for general medical practitioners was £17,327 in 1979–80 and £45,761 in 1989–90, an increase of 31 per cent. in real terms. The average GP also received an income of £5,955 in 1979–80 in direct reimbursement of certain expenses: the 1989–90 figure is estimated to be £21,475, an increase of 79 per cent. in real terms.

Homeless People

78.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what provision he has made for the health care needs of homeless people in 1990–91 and the subsequent year.

It will be for individual health authorities and family practitioner committees to assess and meet the health care needs of all those, including any homeless, within their areas of responsibility. The Department, however, is funding several voluntary organisations helping the homeless and has funded two projects in London designed to promote new models of primary care. Following an encouraging evaluation, it is hoped that similar schemes will be developed elsewhere, In addition, the Department is examining what further measures could be taken to help those homeless who are mentally ill.

North West Rha

81.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were treated by the North West regional health authority in 1978–79 and 1988–89 as inpatients, outpatients and day patients; and if he will make a statement.

The information requested is as follows:

	1979	1989	Per cent.
In-patient cases (including day cases)	563,787	809,868	+43
Day cases	70,608	136,020	+93
Out patients (new cases)	699,717	779,084	+11

Park Hospital, Liverpool

82.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will intervene with Liverpool regional health authority to prevent the closure or rundown of Park hospital in the Broadgreen constituency; and if he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to the reply that I gave the hon. Member for Liverpool, Riverside (Mr. Parry) earlier today.

Regional Health Authorities (Resources)

84.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give further details of the new system of distributing resources to regional health authorities.

The new system was set out in paragraphs 4.8 to 4.10 of "Working for Patients" and in paragraphs 1.1 to 1.6 of Working Paper 2: "Funding and Contracts for Hospital Services", copies of which are available in the Library. For further details, I refer my hon. Friend to the replies that I gave the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, Central (Mr. Cousins) on 10 January at column 663 and today.

Table 1
	1990–91 shares
Region	Crude population	Weighted¹ for age structure	Weighted for SMRs	Weighted for costs of providing services
	per cent.	per cent.	per cent.	per cent.
Northern	6·40	6·32	6·85	6·63
Yorkshire	7·56	7·54	7·84	7·59
Trent	9·80	9·65	9·82	9·51

Social Workers

85.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has received any recent representations from the Association of County Councils about a shortage of qualified social workers.

We have no record of recent representations from the Association of County Councils on this issue. We are aware of the problems faced by some local authorities in attracting and retaining suitably qualified staff and of the steps that they, as employers, are taking to improve the position. The response by local authorities to the Department of Health's two training support programmes targeted at staff working with elderly people and those working in the field of child care, indicates that many social services departments will be enabled to increase significantly the number of their staff seconded to social work qualifying courses. The Department will keep under review possible measures to increase intakes to qualifying courses in social work.

Children Act

86.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the progress being made with the implementation of the Children Act 1989.

108.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the progress being made with the implementation of the Children Act 1989.

I refer the right hon. Member to the reply that I gave to the hon. Member for Caerphilly (Mr. Davies) earlier today.

Regional Allocations

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether, pursuant to his reply to the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne, Central on 10 January, Official Report, column 663, he will publish a table showing in the case of each National Health Service region in 1990–91 (a) the basic allocation for population, (b) the effect of adjusting for morbidity, (c) the effect of adjustments for the relative costs of services to seven age bandings and (d) the damping effect of phasing in the new allocation system over three years.

[holding answer 15 January 1990]: The information requested is given as follows in the form of allocation shares of the resources available nationally. Table 1 shows how these shares are changed as the various weighting factors within the new allocation formula are applied and table 2 the effect on 1990–91 of phasing the new formula over three years:

	1990–91 shares
Region	Crude population	Weighted¹ for age structure	Weighted for SMRs	Weighted for costs of providing services
	per cent.	per cent.	per cent.	per cent.
East Anglian	4·30	4·43	4·15	4·02
North West Thames	7·39	7·08	6·78	7·41
North East Thames	7·93	7·86	7·77	8·61
South East Thames	7·69	8·14	7·96	8·36
South West Thames	6·28	6·57	6·15	6·49
Wessex	6·21	6·50	6·10	5·91
Oxford	5·37	4·92	4·62	4·48
South Western	6·78	7·33	6·98	6·76
West Midlands	10·92	10·49	10·80	10·47
Mersey	5·02	4·92	5·25	5·08
North Western	8·33	8·26	8·93	8·66
Total	100·00	100·00	100·00	100·00
¹ Relative cost of services for different ages

Table 2
Region	Effect on shares of moving direct to new formula in 1990–91	Effect on¹ shares of phasing in new formula	Difference
	Per cent.	Per cent.	Per cent.
Northern	6·63	6·63	0·00
Yorkshire	7·59	7·53	-0·06
Trent	9·51	9·45	-0·06
East Anglian	4·02	3·96	-0·06
North West Thames	7·41	7·45	0·03
North East Thames	8·61	8·72	0·09
South East Thames	8·36	8·23	-0·13
South West Thames	6·49	6·49	0·00
Wessex	5·91	5·77	-0·13
Oxford	4·48	4·56	0·08
South Western	6·76	6·65	-0·11
West Midlands	10·47	10·59	0·11
Mersey	5·08	5·26	0·16
North Western	8·66	8·72	0·06
Total	100·00	100·00	0·00
¹ Over three years.

Tranx Advice Centre

94.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has had any further discussions about the means of avoiding the closure of the Tranx tranquilliser advice centre.

No. Officials wrote to Tranx (UK) Ltd in December explaining that, because the statutory authorities are not prepared to fund local elements of the service that Tranx (UK) Ltd provides and given the constraints on central funds, the Department is unable to offer the organisation any further grant aid.

Doctors' Pay

98.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to be in a position to publish his reaction to the pay review body's recommendation on doctors' pay.

The doctors' and dentists' review body reports directly to my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, who will announce the Government's decision in due course.

Hospital Building

99.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has any plans for improving value for money in the hospital building programme.

A number of initiatives aimed at improving the value for money of the hospital building programme are already in hand. These include a review of the procedures leading up to the approval of new building schemes, a review of the Department's procedural framework for processing building schemes in the NHS, and a review of project management. Each of these reviews will be reporting this year. The Department will continue to develop its building guidance, which has led to significant improvement in the value for money of new hospital building schemes.The NHS reforms are expected to provide further incentives to improve the performance of the programme, and the future involvement of the Audit Commission in the NHS will bring the management of the estate, including the building programme, into sharper focus.

Sarum 89 Group

101.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he will consider further representations from the "Sarum 89" group of doctors in Salisbury, following study of their alternative White Paper on National Health Service reform.

I have now held several useful meetings with the Sarum 89 group and I am grateful for their time and energy. We are always willing to consider fresh representations from this group on the detailed implementation of the Government's proposals to improve the Health Service.

Cervical Cancer

102.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the Northern regional health authority with regard to the incidence of cervical cancer; and if he will make a statement.

The incidence of and mortality from cervical cancer varies considerably geographically and within various groups within the population. The main strategy for dealing with the disease is through a programme of early detection based on population screening programmes. I understand from the Northern regional health authority that it is well within target in covering its population through a comprehensive screening programme.

109.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what change there has been in the number of deaths from cervical cancer between 1978 and 1988; and if he will make a statement.

The information is shown in the table:

Deaths from cancer of the cervix in England and Wales for the years 1978 to 1988
Year	Deaths
1978	2,153
1979	2,087
1980	2,068
1981	2,017
1982	1,932
1983	1,959
1984	1,899
1985	1,957
1986	2,004
1987	1,903
1988	1,942

North East Thames Rha

105.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give details of the hospital capital programme in the North East Thames region for 1990–91.

The capital programme for North East Thames regional health authority for 1990–91 includes the following major schemes:

Schemes for which there is a Contractual Commitment

Whittington—Phase I
Mile End—Geriatric Unit
Chase Farm Enabling Works
Whipps Cross Development
St. Bartholomews—New Theatres

Schemes not yet with a Contractual Commitment

Princess Alexandra Development
Chase Farm Main Development
Goodmayes DGH
Broomfield—Phase VII
Colchester—Phase IV
Bloomsbury—Hospital Development
Broomfield, Colchester and Bloomsbury are subject to the approval of Ministers. Further details of the capital programme can be obtained from North East Thames regional health authority.

Infant Deaths

110.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will give for the years 1979 and 1988 the rate of infant deaths within the first week of birth and the number of stillbirths.

The information is shown in the table:

Early neonatal mortality rate and the number of stillbirths in England and Wales for the years 1979 and 1988
	1979	1988
Early neonatal mortality rate per 1000 livebirths	6·75	3·89
Stillbirths	5,125	3,382

Cornwall First Air Ambulance

118.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a contribution to the cost of the Cornwall First Air Ambulance.

It is for local health authorities to determine the level of and extent of services that they provide, taking into account the available resources and the competing demands upon them. However, the Department is funding an evaluation of this local initiative.

General Practitioners

120.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many general practitioners there are in the National Health Service now; and how many there were in 1979.

At 1 October 1988 (the latest year for which figures are available) there were 25,322 unrestricted general medical practitioners in England compared with 21,357 at 1 October 1979—an increase of 18·6 per cent.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health for how many days general practitioners on duty over a weekend will be expected to work continuously under the new contract for general practitioners.

There are no specific requirements in the GPs' new contract for weekend duties or for working continuously. The responsibility placed upon GPs by regulations to provide all necessary and appropriate personal medical services for their patients on a 24 hours a day basis remains unchanged. Existing arrangements for delegating this responsibility also remain unchanged. The new requirement introduced by the National Health Service (General Medical and Pharmaceutical Services) Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 1989 is that GPs who are full time will be required to be available for surgery consultation and home visits for a minimum of 26 hours a week over five days at times convenient to their patients.

Hospital Services (Rural Areas)

122.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he will make a statement on his Department's policy on the provision of hospital services in rural areas.

Small hospitals can play a valuable role in providing a range of services if that is what is needed locally. Under the proposals of the National Health Service and Community Care Bill, district health authorities will have responsibility for ensuring provision of a comprehensive range of services for their resident population. They will be able to take full account of the services offered by small hospitals in deciding where to place contracts.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus

123.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what is the latest evidence as to the efficiency of the heterosexual transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus; and whether he will make a statement.

I refer the hon. Member to my earlier reply to him on 11 December 1990 at column 502. A number of scientific journals have contained articles on this topic; these include the British Medical Journal (18 February 1989, pp 401-2, 411-15) and "AIDS 1988 2" (supplement 1) pp S49-56, copies of which are available in the Library.

Generic Medicines

To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he has received any recent representations on the quality control of foreign generic medications, including those from European Community countries; and if he will make a statement.

We have received no representations to date.

National Health Service Trust, Barnsley

To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he has received any representations regarding the setting up of a National Health Service trust in Barnsley.

No.

Donor Cards

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people were estimated to carry (a) kidney donor cards and (b) other organ donor cards, in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

This information is not available in the form requested.We now issue a single multi-organ donor card, which makes provision for the donation of individually specified, or all, organs.Different sample surveys produce varying estimates of donor card ownership, but it appears likely that between 20 and 30 per cent. of the general public now possess a donor card. Possession of donor cards has risen substantially over the past decade. A survey carried out in November 1978 found that only 10 per cent. of those questioned possessed a signed card.

Soviet Union

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what communications he has received from his counterpart in the Soviet Union.

I was delighted to meet and host a dinner for Academician Chazov, the Minister for Health of the USSR, during his visit to the United Kingdom as a guest of Her Majesty's Government at the end of October last year, and for Mr. Gromyko, Deputy Minister of Health in the USSR, when he was here last week to discuss health trade matters. I have also received correspondence from Academician Chazov.

Regional Health Authorities

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many black and Asian people are currently serving on regional health authorities; and if he will name them.

The information that the hon. Member requests is not available centrally. We do not monitor the ethnic composition of regional health authorities.

Nhs Staff

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many posts in the National Health Service are either nominated by him or need his consultation before they are filled.

My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State does not nominate, nor is he consulted upon, the appointment of staff to posts in the National Health Service. Employment matters are entirely the responsibility of individual health authorities. So far as the appointment of chairmen and members of health authorities are concerned, details of those for which my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State is responsible were given in my reply to the hon. Member for Leicester, East on 12 December 1989 at columns 623-24.

Sterilisation Treatment

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will list by district health authority in the Trent regional health authority the waiting times for women patients requesting National Health Service sterilisation treatment;(2) if he will list by regional health authority the waiting times from women patients requesting National Health Service sterilisation treatment;(3) if he will list by regional health authority, and by district health authority, the waiting times for colposcopy.

Information on waiting time for individual procedures is not collected centrally.

Schizophrenia

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people suffering from schizophrenia have been released from mental institutions (a) in the United Kingdom and (b) in the North West region, during each of the last five years.

The number of discharges of patients treated for a main diagnosis of schizophrenia from National Health Service mental illness hospitals and units for the last five available years, 1982–86, for England and the North Western regional health authority are shown in the table. The figures relate to discharges and cannot be related to individual patients; a patient may be admitted more than once in a year.

	England	North Western RHA
1982	24,594	2,348
1983	25,336	2,331
1984	25,934	2,683
1985	26,225	2,875
1986	26,077	2,621

The figures for Wales and Northern Ireland are a matter for my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Wales and for Northern Ireland respectively. The figures for Scotland are a matter for my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.

Community Pharmacy Contractors

To ask the Secretary of State for Health why it was decided to retain a cost plus system of remuneration and year-end review for medical practitioners and to terminate arrangements for community pharmacy contractors in England and Wales.

The arrangements for determining the remuneration of the professions providing family practitioner services are designed to reflect the different circumstances of each profession. The "cost plus" system of determining pharmacists' remuneration was brought to an end last year because it provided insufficient incentives to efficiency in the dispensing of medicines. We expect the measures contained in the White Papers "Promoting Better Health" and "Working for Patients" to improve value for money and raise standards of care in general practice.

Under-Fives Provision

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what additional moneys he has allocated to voluntary organisations for the small grants scheme for under-fives in this financial year.

I am pleased to announce that the Department has just increased the amount allocated to voluntary organisations for the small grants scheme for under-fives and their families by £101,000. The additional allocations are as shown in the table:

Organisation	Additional allocation
	£
Pre-School Play Groups Association	50,000
National Council for Voluntary Child Care Organisation (Child Care)	10,000
National Childminding Association	10,000

Organisation	Additional allocation
	£
National Toy Libraries Association (Play Matters)	11,000
National Playbus Association	10,000
Home Start Consultancy	10,000

This brings the total allocation to £425,000 in 1989–90.

Welfare Milk Scheme

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what representations he has received about the effects of changes to the welfare milk scheme; how many people in Bradford are now receiving weekly milk tokens; what groups of people are entitled to milk tokens; what estimates he has made of the number of people in Bradford who will no longer receive doorstep delivery of welfare milk; and if he will make a statement;(2) what representations he has received about the impact upon those engaged in milk distribution from the discounting of welfare milk tokens; and if he will make a statement.

A period of eight months' consultation and discussion with interested parties preceded the announcement of the price to be paid by the Government for liquid welfare milk. There are no changes in the welfare milk scheme as far as recipients are concerned. Since the announcement my noble Friend Baroness Hooper met representatives of the dairy trade on 10 January to discuss implementation. Specific points about the revised pricing structure were further discussed between officials and the trade on 16 January. Early-day motions have been tabled, seeking reconsideration of our decision, and the regulation bringing the change into effect has been prayed against. In addition, a number of hon. Members have written expressing the concerns of their constituents.Information about the number of welfare milk beneficiaries by area is not available, but we do not anticipate any changes since the scheme itself remains unchanged. Milk tokens will continue to be issued in respect of pregnant women and children under five in families receiving income support and to handicapped children aged five to 16 who, because of their handicap, are registered at a school. The revised pricing structure does not affect beneficiaries entitlement to welfare milk nor the way in which they choose to obtain it.

Emergency Services

To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many departmental employees who are classified as emergency services receive shift allowances and incremental payments.

None, in the Department of Health.

Volume 165: debated on Tuesday 23 January 1990

Written Answers To Questions

Defence

Nuclear Accidents

Low Flying

Ethnic Minority Recruitment

Home Department

Mr Kevin Taylor

Immigration

Litter

Horse Racing

Firearms

Gun Clubs

National Joint Unit Records

Prime Minister

Romania

Czechoslovakia

Bournemouth

Engagements

Education And Science

Drugs

Access Funds

Disabled Students Allowance

Student Loans

Polytechnic Colleges

Local Education Authorities

National Curriculum

Haberdashers' Aske's Schools

School Funding

Surplus School Places

Eastern European Studies

Computers

Pupils' Dress

Special Educational Needs

Higher Education (Fees)

Overseas Development

Eastern Europe

House Of Commons

Parking

Manchester Evening News

Trade And Industry

Barlow Clowes

Gatt

Public Safety

Methanol

Insider Dealing

Attorney-General

Legal Aid

Social Security

Social Fund

Foreign And Commonwealth Affairs

Namibia

Bulgaria

Hong Kong

Whaling

Chemical Weapons

Immigration

Nuclear Non-Proliferation

School Fees

South Africa

Wales

Nhs (Wales)

Prescriptions

Welsh Language Studies

Circulars

Language Studies

Simultaneous Translations

Appointments

Welsh Language

Welsh Language Board

Pharmacists

Community Charge

Low Pay

Welsh College Of Agriculture

West Wales General Hospital

General Practitioners

Teacher Training

Labour Statistics

Transport